


Small Town Woes

by orphan_account



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Multi, Supernatural Creatures AU, Supernatural Elements, skin changer!michael
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-15
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-04-14 21:24:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 43,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4580652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael has never been comfortable in his own skin. Maybe it's because he's lived alone for too long, his uncle barely acknowledging him and everyone else avoiding him. Maybe it's because his parents were proclaimed dead before they could ever explain what he was. Whatever the reason he's woefully unprepared for the sudden exposure of the town's supernatural side that comes from getting employed by a man named Geoff. Now he has to deal with witches, spirits, and hunters all while trying to figure himself out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Job Hunting

**Author's Note:**

> So let's just say I've been working on this au for a looooong time. Hope it's good and I'll try to work on holding on at some point too. For now though it's gonna be this one. I'll try to update once a week but we'll see how that works out.

He fidgeted in his seat, eyes leaping over spots on the walls without really processing what was there. The entire room felt a bit too stuffy and restricting, the air settling on his skin and making him itch to leave, to move, to do anything but just sit there. With the windows and door closed the air wasn’t circulating, only adding to his discomfort. He could vaguely hear two people talking in another room as well but he wasn’t about to eavesdrop on their private conversation. Instead he rubbed his hands together nervously and hoped that whoever was going to interview him would get in there soon.

He wanted to know if they’d accept him. He’d tried almost every other place in the small town but none of them would take him. They called him destructive and impatient. They said they didn’t want him to bring a bad reputation to their business. They all assumed a lot of things based on what he’d done in the past. Maybe he deserved it, though. He’d done all those things willingly.

But honestly, he kind of hated small towns for that reason (among many, many others). People never forgot you. They never forgot the things you did, or the things you said. You go to the principal’s office once in second grade for roughhousing and you’re pegged as aggressive and a bad influence. You constantly fought, even as you grew up? You always came home with cuts and bruises because some asshole kid insulted your only friend? You always had Band-Aids over the worse cuts even if they’ve healed? Say goodbye to anything being easy in your life because everyone thinks you’re always up to pick a fight.

He had been the angry one ever since he’d got into a shouting match with his teacher. It wasn’t like he hadn’t had a good reason to. She was being incredibly hard on one of his only friends at the time. But people didn’t particularly care about the reason. They just cared that it happened and that the Jones kid got in school suspension for it. They only cared as far as they had to, taking things at face value and never digging any deeper.

Ironically the few people in town who accepted him were the sheriff and his officers. Michael wasn’t afraid to admit that he’d been on the wrong side of the iron bars on more than one occasion. Eventually, though, the sheriff started to warm up to him. He wasn’t soft, though, and if anything especially bad happened he still locked him up for the night until his uncle could come bail him out. They were on friendly terms, though. Well, friendly enough, anyways.

Even with the sheriff on his side it wasn’t easy. Almost everywhere he applied had turned him down. Honestly he was lucky that the General Store had even considered his application. They were probably short on volunteers or something if they were willing to take him in. Or maybe they just felt sorry for him.Whatever the reason he was here now and he'd be damned if he let this opportunity slip past him.  
  
When he heard the door open he stiffened and shoved his hands deeply into his lap. He heard heavy footfalls around him and a man plopped down into the seat opposite him. His heavy lidded eyes seemed to scan him, assessing and judging him. He smelled like herbs and smoke and a little bit like booze as well. Michael fidgeted awkwardly, unwilling to make eye contact with the man.  
  
"Michael Jones, right?" He wasn't sure what he was expecting the guy's voice to sound like, but it certainly wasn't this. It was light and apathetic, though there was still something in it that implied that he _cared_. For some reason he felt himself relaxing marginally.  
  
"Uh... yeah. That's me," he chuckled nervously. His eyes skittered over the walls, this time dwelling longer on the pressed flowers behind old glass and the cracked wood panels that made up the walls. There were clips of newspapers and old paper tacked to a corkboard that hung on the wall. It was a strange mix of chaos and comfort, the papers on the desk spread across it haphazardly, the old carpet under his feet worn but still soft. It wasn’t like the other places he’d visited to apply and despite himself he felt at home here.

“Mhmm,” the man hummed, pulling out his phone and checking something. “I’m Geoff. You didn’t really… say anything about yourself on your application.”

Michael chuckled nervously, not sure how to take the statement or the use of his first name instead of his last. “Well… I didn’t think you’d care about that. No one else has… and… well, I answered the ones about the sh- uh, I mean, stuff I can do.”

Geoff nodded. “Yeah, but I actually do want to know about you, Michael. You don’t mind if I call you Michael do you? I’ve never liked formalities.” Michael shook his head even though he kind of did care. He wasn’t about to cross Geoff, though. He had no idea where he stood or how much the other man knew about him. He rubbed his palms on his pants, hoping to get rid of some of the sweat that was forming. “Alright then. Why do you want this job?”

He gulped. “U-uh… because I want to be able to provide for myself. You can’t do that if you don’t have a job and… well, everywhere else turned me down.”

Geoff raised an eyebrow before looking down at his phone again. “Well… you’re technically not a legal adult yet. Wouldn’t your parents support you, even if you can’t find a job? Or are you just looking for spending money?”

Oh no. They were getting onto a topic he didn’t want to talk about. “My uncle makes sure I can eat. He hasn’t been around much lately.”

“No? What about your parents?” Geoff prodded. Alright, there was no way he didn’t know what happened. He was just trying to get Michael to say it himself. What an asshole.

Michael gritted his teeth and practically glowered in Geoff’s direction. “My parents disappeared when I was ten.”

“Oh,” Geoff said blandly. Yep, he definitely knew. It wasn’t like it wasn’t common knowledge. The punk kid’s parents disappear, proclaimed dead, an unknown uncle turns up and becomes his legal guardian. It was something that rarely happened and it was shrouded in so much uncertainty and mystery that it didn’t come as a surprise to anyone when everyone whispered about it. It was gossip. Of course people talked. “I’m sorry.” At least that sounded genuine.

“It happened a long time ago. I’m over it,” Michael said in a way that urged Geoff to _move on to another question._

Thankfully he took the hint. “Why’d everyone else turn you down?”

Michael shrugged. “Dunno,” he muttered, even though he absolutely did know. “Guess they just thought my handsome face would disrupt the customers.” Geoff sent an unamused look his way. "Fine, alright, I'm the Jones kid. Everyone thinks I'm always looking for trouble. People think I always want to start a fight." 

"Well?" Geoff prodded. "Do you?"

Michael shook his head. "No, not really. Usually it's too much trouble and the consequences aren't worth it." 

"Hmm," Geoff hummed. "Alright, well, I don't really see why we can't hire you."

"Wait... are you serious?" Michael spluttered. He hadn't dared hope that this would be the end of his job hunt but... maybe this guy was alright. 

"Yeah. We need more employees. Three, including me, means everyone's stretched a little thin, especially when Ray- well, never mind. Congratulations, Michael."

"I- I... thanks a lot, dude. I can start work whenever- hell, I could start tomorrow I don't care, but thanks, you wouldn't believe how hard it's been to find a job." Michael was practically jumping out of his seat with excitement. 

Geoff chuckled. "Alright, alright, calm down. I do have one question, though." Michael raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, urging Geoff to continue. "Do you... know you're different?"

Michael felt his stomach drop. Did he know about that? No, he couldn't know about that.  _He_  didn’t even completely understand it. He tried to play it off, though, waving his hand and saying, "Yeah, the kids at school made sure I knew that."

Geoff blinked. "Uh... no, I mean... never mind." He sighed and stood up, facing Michael and giving him as genuine a smile as he could. "Well, congratulations on getting a job, Michael. I'll see you tomorrow where I'll hopefully be able to introduce you to the other two jackasses that work here."

Michael brightened at that and nodded his head vigorously. "Yeah, yeah, I'll be here. Thanks again, it really means a lot." The grin on his face was infectious and Geoff soon found himself smiling a bit more genuinely as well. With that they exchanged goodbyes and Geoff was left alone. 

"You know he's not human, right?" A voice asked right by his ear. He nearly jumped a foot in the air, stifling his swearing with a hand pressed over his mouth. He whipped around and glared at the man standing behind him. 

"Jack! Stop fucking doing that! I get it already, you can sneak up on me," Geoff huffed. "And yeah, I know he's not human. You  _being_  here means he's not human, you giving me that weird ass look while I was talking to him means he's not human." Geoff crossed his arms. "So now that we've established I know, are you going to tell me what he is?"

"Eh, I think I'll wait," Jack said slyly, his lips pulling into a grin. Fucking spirits. 

"You better not or else I'll hex you out of the shop for a week," Geoff threatened. They both knew he wouldn't (couldn't) do that, but Jack still put up his hands in surrender. 

"Alright, alright. He's a skin changer."

"Like those people that turn into dogs?" Geoff asked, slightly confused. He wasn't the most knowledgeable on the world of monsters, that was Jack's job, but he still knew quite a few. Skin changer was only barely on the list. 

"Yes, technically, but I don't think he can turn into a dog," Jack said slowly, dragging out his words. 

Geoff huffed and crossed his arms. "Alright, genius, then what can he turn into?"

Jack shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. It's random, as far as I know, what a skin changer can turn into. But... a while ago there were a few other skin changers living in town - probably Michael's family. And, like he said, they disappeared. My best guess was they were killed by hunters. If they were Michael's parents then... well, he's been alone for a long time." 

"So basically you're saying we should just wait till he tells us what he can turn into,” Geoff muttered. He'd just hired a skin changer that could turn into a thus far unspecified animal. Well, he could only hope Michael didn't turn out to be the most... volatile of his employees. 

Jack nodded before he bit his lip, eyebrows drawing closer to each other. "Geoff, I don't think he really knows what he is. His parents disappeared, I don't think they told him beforehand." Jack looked distressed enough for the worry to start to seep over to Geoff. 

He took a step forward and rested a hand against Jack's shoulder. The familiar numbness spread up his arm, the same numbness that always came from physical contact with Jack, but he ignored it for the time being. "Look, if it'll make you feel better I'll talk to him about it. Or I'll get Ray to do it."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, I think it would be better to get Ray to do it." He shuffled a bit where he was standing. "And, uh, watch out for him, please. Like you watch out for Ray?" 

"Yeah," Geoff said lowly. "Yeah, I will." 

And with that Jack was gone in a blink and Geoff was left alone. 


	2. Reunion

Michael woke up the next day woefully unprepared for work. He hadn't forgotten it, no, he wasn't that careless. He had just slept in, which was what he had gotten used to doing these past few months since he had almost no obligations to do anything. And, thanks to that, he was going to be late for the first day of work at his new job. Just perfect.

When his phone buzzed the third time, telling him to get the fuck up, you have work, he practically jumped out of bed and scrambled to change into something a bit more presentable than boxers and a wrinkled t-shirt. He picked his clothes out of a dresser that had probably been there as long as the house had been there (i.e. a very long time). He pulled a hoodie over his head as he wound around the dirt clothes and discarded shoes that littered his room to the door. He wrenched it open and rushed through the halls to the front door. He'd have to skip breakfast - he was going to be late already, better not make Geoff even angrier with him. Or maybe he’d understand. Michael had no idea. He’d only talked to the man once.

He stopped with his hand on the door, waiting and listening. There was nothing but the normal sounds in the house, the creaking of the old foundation, the sound of water rushing through the pipes, and the dull hum of technology. There was no snoring or shuffling or swearing so that meant his uncle wasn't home. Honestly, Michael hadn't expected him to be there but he'd hoped. The house was constantly lonely, but he supposed he should be used to it by now. It had been a long time since he'd woken up with other people in the house. He supposed it wasn't going to start today. 

With that he pulled the door open and stepped outside, following the familiar path to the General Store. Michael still wasn't sure if it had a name or not, but everyone he knew just called it the General Store, so he went along with it. Apparently it had been around almost as long as the town itself, which, while not ridiculously long, was still impressive. He wondered briefly if Geoff had bought the building or if he had inherited it from someone. He supposed it didn't really matter, but it would still be something to start a conversation with if he ever wanted to, so he filed it away for later. 

He found himself in front of the store quickly enough. His house wasn't too far away from the store, so he had decided to walk there. 

He took a deep breath and pushed the door open, wincing slightly when the bell over the door chimed out. The hard wood floor seemed to creak a bit under his weight as he wound his way around the shelves of random food items to the counter in the back. He stood there for an awkward second, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do. His eyes wandered around, taking in the shelves and the refrigerators to his left that held anything from bottled water to ice cream to alcohol. Everything was mostly normal, things you’d expect to find in a store that sold, well, general wares.

Except the shelves near the counter that held things full of feathers and string and weird markings that looked suspiciously like runes that Hollywood loved to use in horror movies. There were little bottles made of colored glass that were labeled anything from “perfume” to “luck.” Michael wasn’t really sure what it was supposed to mean, but they were all obviously hand made.

He was pulled out of his observations when a door to the back opened and a young man about his age stepped out, carrying a few boxes. 

"Store doesn't open for another few minutes," he said as soon as he laid eyes on Michael. "You're gonna have to wait outside."

Michael blinked and squinted at the other man. There was something strangely familiar about him. The man wound around the counter and put the boxes down next to him. 

"Hey!" he said, louder this time. He was obviously losing patience. "Did you hear what I said?" 

"Ray!" a voice Michael didn't recognized yelled from the back. "He's the new employee," a bearded man said as he walked towards where the two of them were standing. There was something strange about him that Michael couldn’t quite place.

"Oh," Ray said, somewhat sheepishly. He grinned crookedly at Michael before saying, "Sorry. I'm just... a little tired, I guess."

Michael could only blink at him. "Uh... your name is Ray? As in Ray Narvaez Jr?"

"Uh... yeah?" He said uncertainly. "Do I... know you?" He took a cautious step back, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. 

"Yeah, we... we used to go to school together," Michael muttered awkwardly. Maybe Ray didn't remember him. It _had_ been a long time. And he'd moved away... speaking of, why was he here?

Ray's eyebrows shot up. "Michael?" he asked incredulously. "Oh shit, I barely recognized you. You've changed, like, a lot."

He felt his heart speed up at that. So Ray did remember him. He couldn't help but smile, marveling at how the scrawny kid he'd known had grown up to... well, an equally scrawny young adult, but still. There were dark bags under his eyes, slightly hidden behind glasses that he hadn’t worn when Michael had known him. His smile was genuine and yet somehow still strained.

Ray had grown up, that much was certain, but it didn't look like wherever he'd gone had been kind to him.

Michael resisted the urge to ask him where he'd been, what he'd done, why he left, but now wasn't the time. Instead he said, "Heh, well, the last time we saw each other was when we were like... maybe ten?" Ray shrugged, but his smile was slowly getting wider. 

"Yeah. It's been a long time, dude." 

Michael opened his mouth to try to keep the conversation alive and get Ray to say something - anything, really - about where he'd been, but he was interrupted by the same bearded man as before. "Well, as much as I'd love for you two to get caught up you also have this thing called a job. Ray, why don't you show Michael around?" 

"Yeah, sure, Jack. I can do that," Ray nodded, motioning Michael to follow him. Before he could take a step, though, Jack grabbed his arm gently and whispered something to him, something Michael didn't quite catch. He had the suspicious feeling it was about him. Ray gave Jack a curious look, but he nodded anyways. With that over, he started walking towards the back again, motioning for Michael to follow again. 

He did, jogging a bit to catch up to Ray's quick pace. "What was that all about?" he asked, but Ray only shrugged. 

"Eh, you know, business stuff." 

They walked down a slightly cramped hallway together, not saying anything for a few seconds. Michael took the time to look around, taking in the framed newspaper clippings and dried plants, the same things that Geoff had hung up in his office. The hall soon turned into a dead end that was a bit less cramped then the other hallway. There were a few doors set into the walls and a staircase leading up to what Michael assumed was a second floor.  There was a door close to them that had a sign hung up on it that said, “do not enter” in sloppy handwriting.

Michael didn't get the chance to ask about it because Ray chose that moment to open his mouth again. "Alright, well, over there is Geoff's office." He pointed towards a door a few feet away. "And over there is the storage room," he motioned vaguely towards a door on the opposite wall. 

"What's up those stairs?" Michael asked curiously, pointing to a wooden staircase that climbed up and ended at a landing that Michael could only barely make out in the gloom surrounding it. 

"That's where Geoff lives." At Michael's disbelieving stare he laughed, "He says he wants to live near his work, which is... a bit more than just managing a store. So he just lives here." 

"Oh," Michael said dully, before saying, "Uh... what kind of work does he do?" 

Ray shuffled awkwardly at that. "Well, he, uh... Michael how much do you know about... what you are?"

Michael blinked, then narrowed his eyes. This was the second time in two days that the matter of... what he was had been brought up. There was no way this was a coincidence. "What do you mean?" Michael asked carefully. There was a high chance that he had just been found out by a bunch of hunters, and even though it was Ray he was talking to he had no idea where he'd been in the years they hadn't seen each other. 

"I mean... well, I assume you know you're not human but... do you, uh, know exactly what you are?" 

Michael turned to face Ray, his hands slowly curling into fists. "It depends. What would you do if I said yes?" 

Ray's eyes flickered to Michael's hands and he took a step back, raising his own in defense. "Woah, woah, there's no need for that, dude. I know it's been a while but I still consider us friends. I wouldn't, like, sell you out or anything." 

Michael relaxed slightly before he sighed. "Sorry. I- I know that, it's just... you gotta be careful, right?" Ray nodded sagely, clearly understanding what Michael was talking about. Michael paused for a second before asking, "Uh... how do you know about... uh, what I am?" 

Ray shrugged. "Jack told me." 

"Jack?" Michael practically shouted. "I literally just met the guy! How the hell does he know?" 

"I mean you're not the only monster around here," a voice said from behind him and Michael jumped, his heart skipping a beat. Out of instinct he turned and swung his arm around him, only ending up clawing at the air. He swore his heart almost stopped when he saw the fur and black claws instead of a human hand. He quickly pulled his arm close to his chest and squeezed his eyes shut.

He muttered to himself, urging his hand to turn back into his own. This wasn't the time, this wasn't the place. "Woah," Ray muttered. "That's pretty fuckin’ cool, dude." 

His eyes blinked open and he sighed in relief when he saw skin and nails instead of fur and claws. There was a sick feeling in his stomach, though. The same feeling that came after any of his accidental transformations. It probably came from him suppressing an entire part of himself but he figured it was better than death by a hunter. He finally processed the two people staring at him and he felt his face get hot. "W-what are you staring at?" 

Jack's eyes shifted up to meet Michael's. He shivered when a chill went down his spine. There was something unnatural about Jack, something he'd noticed the first time he'd seen the man, but had ignored. Michael took a careful step back. He didn't like this. "Calm down, Michael," Jack said slowly, and it only scared him more when he felt his shoulders start to relax without his consent. 

He took another step back, feeling panic rise in his chest. "Stop it!" he growled, and really, it was a growl. "I- I don't know what you're doing but stop!" 

Jack took a step forward, hand outstretched, but Ray stopped him. He sent him a look that said _let me do this._

Michael, meanwhile, had screwed his eyes shut and laced his hands through his hair. "Please, not now, leave me alone, don’t do this now," he muttered over and over, only stopping when a hand rested itself on his shoulder. 

His head snapped up and he only barely stopped himself from lashing out. _It's just Ray,_ he told himself. _Ray won't hurt you._

"Michael, I think we really need to have a long conversation about this. But not here." Ray's eyes flickered to Jack. "Want to do it at your place?" 

Michael smiled crookedly, still a little on edge. "Y-you don't have to make it sound like an innuendo."

Ray let out a bark of laughter. "Yeah, well, you obviously don't know me as well as you think. Come on, we've got a lot of catching up to do."


	3. Explanations

The walk to Michael's house was mostly silent, with small jokes from Ray thrown in to get the other man to relax. Ray wasn't an idiot. He could tell what happened back at the general store had freaked Michael out. It wasn’t every day you got thrust into the supernatural side of a town you’ve lived in your whole life. He’d had to deal with it when he’d gotten back into town. Granted, though, he had taken it marginally better than Michael had.

Still, though, they had to talk about what happened back at the store at some point. Ray wasn’t letting Michael get out of this one.

They reached the old house relatively quickly and Ray couldn’t help but be a little impressed. It looked almost like it had all those years ago, but the paint was almost all gone and the yard was heavily overgrown. Vines wound their way up the sides of the front porch and as they walked up the steps Ray was almost certain it would give out from under him. It emanated a foreboding feeling that was almost identical to Ray’s own old house. He kicked a loose board in the porch and said, "So do you, like, not care about how your house looks or?"

Michael shrugged as he unlocked the door. "Not really. No one bothers us so there's not really a point."

Ray blinked at that. "Us?" He didn’t know there was going to be someone else. He wasn’t sure he was ready to deal with another person. Not now, at least. It was too late in the day.

"Yeah, me and my uncle. When my... when my parents disappeared he moved in to take care of me." Ray followed him closely into something that looked like a kitchen. It was in considerably better shape than the exterior of the house but it was still obviously old. The appliances were a bit outdated and the white exterior of the refrigerator had turned into a faded yellow. "He's not here, though. He hasn't been for a while." 

"Oh," Ray said dumbly, sitting down on the seat offered to him. Michael sat down across from him and leaned heavily on his arms. There was silence for a few seconds before Ray asked, "Hey... dude, are you ok?" He glanced the other man over, noting the shaking in Michael's hands and his bouncing leg under the table. 

"I just - what the fuck happened, Ray?" Michael burst out, obviously wanting answers. "It was - I was there and- and-" he cut himself off and shook his head. Michael took a deep breath before finally deciding to ask, "How long have you known?"

Ray blinked before rubbing his hands together awkwardly. "You mean the, uh, skin changer thing?" Michael nodded. "Ah, well, funny story, I've kinda... known you're not human ever since I met you?" 

"I- what? Ray, are you fucking serious?" Michael asked, not really even surprised anymore. It felt like the day had just started and already Michael was almost completely out of energy.   

Ray rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yeah, I mean I knew, but I didn't really know what you are. I'm still not really sure, honestly. I just know what Jack told me."

"And... uh... what did Jack tell you?" 

Ray sent Michael a concerned look. "You really don't know what you are, do you?" Michael felt his face heat up but he didn't say anything. Ray sighed. "Alright, well, I can try to explain it as well as I can but don't count on anything." Michael found himself leaning forward to listen as Ray began. "So skin changers can, like, physically turn into an animal. I’m not sure if there’s any side effects or whatever but I’m going to assume there are because – actually, nevermind.”

"A-and I'm a skin changer," Michael asked rhetorically. Ray nodded anyways. Michael's eyes wandered down to his hands. "But... why a bear?"

"Oh," Ray said dully. "Is that what you can, uh, turn into?"

"Yeah... did you not know that?"

"Nah," Ray said, waving his hand in the air. "Apparently Jack couldn't tell or something. According to him it's a random thing."

Michael shuffled in his seat a little. "Uh... hey, Ray?" The other man raised an eyebrow. "What... is Jack?"

"Oh, right, you don't know. I guess that's why he freaked you out so much in the store." Ray paused for a second, trying to figure out how to phrase it. "He's... a spirit."

"What, like a ghost?"

"Uhh... no, not really." Ray rubbed the back of his neck and swallowed. "According to Jack a ghost is something that used to be human. A spirit is something that never was."

"That doesn't really help me, Ray," Michael pointed out.

"Uh... yeah, right, one time he told me he was called a land-wight. I think there’s another term for what he is but it’s too hard to say. Apparently he's like a protective spirit. He's been here longer then the town." 

Michael blinked. That was... not the explanation he had expected. Granted, he wasn't sure what he was expecting, all he knew that it wasn't that. "Oh," was all he could manage to say. 

Ray chuckled a bit. "Yeah, that was my reaction too. I'd never heard of it before I met Jack." Ray glanced at his watch. "Oh shit, it's getting late. If you want to come back to the store you can, but don't feel like you have to."

Michael raised an eyebrow at that. "Of course I'm coming!" He said indignantly. He wasn't some delicate flower that couldn't take care of himself. He was a skin changer for god's sakes. That had to count for something. 

"Ok," Ray said calmly. "I was just checking. I didn't want to freak you out more by suggesting you come back to the store."

With that Ray stood up, pushing the chair back under the table. He seemed too look around a bit before wiping his hands on his pants. He looked nervous. "Hey, Ray," Michael began, his worry only increasing when Ray seemed to jump at his voice. "Where have you been all this time?" 

He only chuckled nervously which didn't help Michael calm down. "New York," he said. "I went to live in New York." 

"Yes, but what did you  _do?"_ Michael pressed, hoping that their history together would help Ray to trust him. Or at least tell him more than the bare minimum. He was obviously withholding something. But, Michael mused, maybe he deserved his secrets. 

"Haha," Ray muttered, looking anywhere but Michael and inching closer to the door. "I dunno, man. I just went to New York. Turned out it wasn't for me so I came back. Not much more to that story."

He was lying and he knew Michael knew it. While Michael was still slightly curious and just a little bit worried he let the subject drop. This wasn't the time. Ray would tell him in his own time. At least he hoped he would. "Alright. Let's head back to the shop."

-.-

"You did _WHAT_?" Geoff shouted, and Jack just looked at him unimpressed. 

"Look, I thought it would be a good idea at the time," Jack tried to explain. Geoff looked like he was about to start pulling his hair out as he paced back and forth behind the counter. 

"Yes, but it obviously wasn't! Jack, you know your spirit shit freaks people out. And don't even try to use the 'I'm the protector of this town' bullshit again." Jack closed his mouth. "And besides, that was the first time Michael _MET_ you. You better hope he doesn't distrust you after that. No one likes to be manipulated, Jack."

"For the last time it's-" 

"Not manipulation, yes, I know, but from the receiving end it sure as hell feels that way."

"Hey," a voice broke into their conversation. "As much as I'd love to stay and listen to this couples squabble I'd also love to get home." 

Geoff waved his hand at the man. "Yeah, yeah, give me a second Ryan. I'll be with you when I'm done with this." Geoff didn't acknowledge the bang on the counter that was probably Ryan slamming his head down and groaning. "Look, I'm not _saying_ that you should probably stay away from Michael for a while but I'm implying it. Besides, we kind of _need_ him. We don't have that many employees to begin with and since Ray's... well, you know, we're constantly understaffed. Plus I think we could help him."

"Pick up another stray, Geoff?" 

"Shut the fuck up, Haywood," Geoff snapped, turning his attention to Ryan again. He roughly grabbed the items he'd set down on the counter and scanned them. He then proceeded to shove them roughly into the paper bags he kept the store stocked with and plopped them down on the counter in front of Ryan with a glare. 

"Thanks," Ryan said sarcastically, reaching into his pocket to pull out his wallet. Everyone froze, though, when the bell over the front door rang out. 

There was a moment of silence, only punctuated by soft steps on the hard floor, before they heard, "Ryan?" 

Everyone relaxed significantly as Ray walked towards them with Michael in tow. Geoff sent a look towards Jack and in an instant the spirit was gone. Michael didn't seem to notice or, if he did, he just didn't react. "Hey, Ray," Ryan greeted the lad. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah, you ass," he said hotly before reaching over and punching Ryan gently on the arm. Ryan feigned injury, cradling the spot where Ray had made contact. The lad only rolled his eyes. "It's nice to see you again." 

Ryan chuckled. "Yeah, you too." With that he turned back to Geoff and said, "I need to get going. Kerry's probably wondering where I am." Geoff nodded and took the money Ryan had somehow managed to get out of his pocket and nudged the bags over to him. As Ryan walked out of the store Michael turned to the others. 

"So... was he, like, another weird supernatural creature I should know about?"

"Uh... no," Geoff said awkwardly. "He's... uh... well, I mean, he used to be... a... hunter...?" 

"Used to be?" Michael managed, feeling a pressure build in his chest. That man was a hunter? And they let him in the store? Did he know about all the monsters that worked here? Was he going to come back? Was he going to hurt them?

"Yeah," Ray said, putting a hand on Michael's shoulder. Michael bit his tongue in at attempt not to start shouting. "He used to be. He's not anymore. You can trust him, I promise." 

Michael could only swallow dryly and nod. His nails dug into the palms of his hands and he winced at the pain but he couldn’t unclench his hand. There had been a hunter in the store with him. What if he'd known what he was? What if he'd killed him like hunters killed his parents? 

He felt someone squeeze his shoulder and he blinked rapidly. Ray was staring at him intensely. "He won't hurt you, I promise. If he even tries I'll make sure he never sets foot in this store again." He said it with such finality that Michael was at a loss for words. Eventually, though, he nodded.

The pressure was still there but it had lessened significantly. He trusted Ray. Ray wouldn't let a hunter hurt him. Michael winced as his hand stung where his nails had dug into them. He glanced down at them and felt his face heat up. The nails had turned into claws and had dug into his skin, turning his palms into a bloody mess. With a little concentration he managed to force his hands back to normal, though the blood was still there. 

He felt a presence join Ray's in front of him and he looked up, surprised to see Jack there. Now that he knew a bit more about the man he could absolutely tell that there was something about him that just wasn't human. There was almost _nothing_ around the man, no heat, no heartbeat, no smell. He looked at Michael in the eyes and the lad couldn't help but shiver a little. 

"Do you mind?" he asked gently, motioning towards Michael's hands. The lad shook his head uncertainly and held his hands out. He felt a strange numbness spread up his arm as Jack carefully wrapped his hands in white bandages that had something slightly damp on them that stung. It didn’t smell like alcohol, though, so he had no idea what it was, only that it was supposed to help. Michael could only assume it was working because the stinging was rapidly fading. As soon as Jack took his hands away the numbness went with it. 

"Uh..." Michael tried. "Thanks, I guess?"

Jack smiled nervously. "I- uh... just wanted to say sorry. For freaking you out earlier." 

"O-oh," Michael finally managed to force out. "It's fine, dude. Ray explained it." Jack brightened at that. 

"Oh good! I hope you enjoy working here!" he said cheerfully before disappearing. Michael blinked in surprise. 

"Is he always like that?" Michael asked Ray. The other lad only shrugged in response. 

"You get used to it."


	4. Witches

The next few days passed by in a blur. Michael learned the ins and outs of the store, the regular customers and where everything was. He got used to his position and his co-workers, though Jack was harder to get used to then the others. Ray spent most of his free time hovering around Michael's spot near the cash register, making conversation and cracking jokes. He'd seemed jumpy the past few days and Michael was a little worried, even if Geoff had insisted it was nothing. 

"Don't worry about it, Michael," he'd said. "He'll be fine in a few days just you wait."

Still, though, he worried. Maybe it was for nothing, but still. He had no idea what Ray had been up to these past few years. Hopefully it wasn’t anything terrible.

"Hey," an impatient voice broke him out of his thoughts. Michael looked up to see a familiar face. "Are you going to tell me how much I need to give you or are you just going to stand there?"

"O-oh, right, sorry," Michael stuttered, almost tripping over himself trying to ring the man up. If he remembered correctly his name was Ryan. The hunter. Nervously Michael told the man how much he owed and soon enough the money was exchanged. 

Ryan grabbed his bags but stopped, looking Michael up and down. "You know you don't have to be afraid of me." 

Michael blinked and felt his nails dig into his palm. "W-what, uh, do you mean?"

"I mean I'm retired. I know what happened to your parents and why you're acting like this around me. You think I'm going to whip out a gun and shoot you without warning." Michael opened his mouth to protest but Ryan held up his hand. "No, please don't lie. I don't really care all that much. Just don't come to my house in the middle of the night and try to kill me." 

With that he turned away but Michael called after him, "Why'd you give it up?" He almost bit his tongue. Why did he ask that? 

Ryan stopped and turned around to face Michael, a slightly bemused look on his face. "You mean being a hunter?" Michael nodded mutely. "Well, I guess I stopped believing I was the good guy. That and… well, one other reason, but I don’t know you well enough to tell you yet. Let’s just say it made me question what I was doing. So I retired."

"How do you... retire from being a hunter?" Michael asked, and started when he realized he'd said it out loud. 

Ryan shrugged. "Honestly? Just run like hell and hope for the best." 

With that he left and Michael was left alone for a few minutes. It wasn't long, however, before Ray came pushing his way into the main store wearing a hoodie and carrying a backpack. Michael raised an eyebrow. "Going somewhere?" 

Ray tensed at Michael's voice and that was enough to make him worry. "I-uh... yeah, I'm, uh, going home for the night." 

Michael glanced out the window. The sun was still fairly high in the sky. "Yeah? It's a little early, don't you think?"

Ray tried to stutter out a response but whatever excuse he would have come up with was cut off by Geoff waltzing in and saying, "Hey, Ray, you forgot this." He held out what looked like a crumpled paper bag. Michael couldn't really tell what was inside of it but if he didn't know any better he'd say it looked kind of like a bottle. Did Ray drink or something? Michael had no idea.

"O-oh, yeah, thanks Geoff," Ray muttered, grabbing the bag and quickly leaving the store. Michael sent a confused look towards Geoff. 

"What the fuck was that all about?" Geoff just shrugged in response. Michael hummed a bit before gathering the courage to ask, "Geoff, where'd Ray go? When he left town, I mean."

Geoff chewed his lip and shifted from foot to foot. "Uh... I think that's up to Ray to tell you. I'm sure he will just... give him some time." 

With that Geoff left quickly, muttering something about leaving the oven on. Michael was pretty sure there wasn’t an oven in the store. 

He was left alone for a while with nothing but his thoughts to occupy him. They drifted back to the first time he'd met Ray, when they were still young and the world held a little bit of promise and mystery. Michael had been kicked out of class that day for being disruptive and he'd been sent to the principal's office, where he'd been waiting for quite some time in the uncomfortable chairs they set up just outside the office. For a while Michael had sat there alone before he'd heard a creak and a small sigh. 

He remembered glancing to the side and taking in the small, almost unhealthily skinny form of Ray, though at that point he hadn't known the other boy's name. For some reason he had decided to talk to Ray, saying, "What’re ya’ in for?" 

Ray had jumped a bit at the question. "I- I- I fell asleep during class…?" 

Michael had laughed loudly at that and Ray had shrunk away from him a bit before he nervously joined in. It hadn't taken long for the both of them to become friends, but that had all ended abruptly when Ray moved away. 

"Hey," a voice broke him out of his thoughts for the second time that day. Michael glanced up to see a girl about his age staring at him nervously. She had long red hair and her clothes all looked like they'd been picked up from a second hand store. If Michael was being completely honest with himself he'd say she looked... kind of pretty. "This- uh, this is where you go when you want to buy... stuff, right?" She said "stuff" like it was supposed to mean something to Michael. 

He just stared at her. Figures he'd think the druggie was cute. "Yeah, no, we don't sell... stuff here. Go get your fix somewhere else."

"I- I- no! That's not what I meant!" the girl said hurriedly. "I mean, like, things you... can't buy anywhere else."

Michael raised an eyebrow and motioned to the "curiosities" that Geoff sold. "As far as I know the only things Geoff sells are those. I think he makes them." 

The girl brightened. "Oh! Really? Can I... talk to him?" 

"He just left-" Michael started to say before he felt a weight on his shoulder that numbed the entire right side of his body. Jack.

"Yes, of course you can. Michael here can go get him for you," Jack said cheerfully before pushing Michael towards the door to the back. He shot the spirit a questioning look and he leaned down and whispered, "Tell Geoff he's got a witch waiting in the store."

Michael blinked in surprise. A witch? This was the first time he'd ever encountered one before and he wasn't sure what to think. As far as he knew the girl looked like a normal human. The only difference he could detect was a strange warmth that emanated off her. It felt almost electric, if he was going to be completely honest. Michael shook his head a bit to drag himself out of his thoughts. 

He turned to Jack and shrugged before he started walking through the familiar hallway in the back, ending before the staircase that apparently led to where Geoff lived. There wasn't a lot of noise coming from the room so Michael only hesitated slightly before knocking. 

Almost immediately the door was wrenched open and Geoff poked his head out. His face was half covered with something that looked like soot and his expression was decidedly grumpy. Michael tried to peek behind Geoff, only catching sight of what looked like a bedroom before Geoff shifted in front of his gaze. "What's up Michael?" he said, attempting to be cheerful. 

"Jack told me to get you. Apparently there's a witch in the store that wants to talk to you." Michael didn't miss the way Geoff's eyes widened and his knuckles whitened where he was gripping the door. Michael raised an eyebrow. "Something to hide, Geoff?"

He shook his head. "No, no, it's just... what did they look like?"

"Uhh... long red hair, probably my age, she's about this tall," Michael made a motion to indicate her height with his hand. "And I don't know her name."

That only seemed to serve to confuse Geoff. "I don't know who that is. I thought I knew every witch in town? Unless... she just moved in?" Michael shrugged. "But I'm pretty sure Burnie would have told me...?" At that point it was clear Geoff was just talking to himself but something made Michael open his mouth. 

"Wait... Burnie? As in Burnie Burns?" Geoff nodded absentmindedly. "Why would he know?" 

Geoff blinked at that and turned his attention to Michael. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked a bit sheepish. "Yeah, he's, uh, a witch too? And so am I? I don't think I ever mentioned that?" 

Michael sighed and dragged his hand over his face. "Is anyone in this god damn town human?" 

Geoff shrugged. "Yeah, but there's also a lot of supernatural creatures. It's kinda weird, honestly, but I don't really mind. It keeps me in business." 

"Alright," Michael said before turning and walking down the stairs back to the store. "That girl's still waiting for you, you know." 

"Oh, yeah," Geoff said before following Michael back to the store.

-.-

Jack found the witch... strange, to say the least. There was definitely magic around her, the same sparking, pulsing energy that every natural born witch carried, but there was something else about her that Jack couldn't place. 

"So..." the girl muttered awkwardly. “I, um, I don't know how much you know...?"

Jack sighed. This girl obviously had no idea what she was doing. "I know you're a witch, don't worry about that." He could feel the girl relax significantly at that. "And Geoff'll be here soon. You can ask him whatever you want when he gets here." 

The girl nodded just as the back door opened again and Michael walked out, Geoff trailing behind him. As soon as Geoff took notice of the girl in front of the counter his eyes lit up and he rushed forward, sticking his hand out and shaking her hand excitedly. "Hey there, I'm Geoff, nice to meet you!" He let go of her hand but still maintained a huge grin. Jack could feel the energy sparking off Geoff. "I guess you're the witch, then?"

The girl nodded nervously. "My, uh, my name's Lindsay." 

"Nice to meet you, Lindsay. When'd you get into town?" 

"Uh... a few nights ago I think?" 

Geoff nodded. "Yeah, that sounds about right. So, Lindsay, what'd'ya need?" 

She shuffled from foot to foot before grinning slightly. "I need potion supplies. And, uh, I kinda... ran away from my last teacher? So I don't... really know what I need."

"Oh," Geoff said in a tone that Jack was, at this point, very familiar with. It was the tone that said Geoff found something interesting. "Why'd you run away?"

Her shoulders stiffened. "I'd... rather not talk about it." 

Geoff shrugged. "Ok then. Well, Lindsay, if you need help with anything magical I'm happy to help. Now, I don't think I'd make a very good teacher but... I guess I can make a fairly good mentor." 

"Really?" Lindsay asked, stuck somewhere between being excited and being cautious. "That would, uh, be really cool, thanks." She sounded genuinely thankful and Geoff smiled widely. 

"No problem," he said, before grabbing a pen and a scrap of paper and scribbling down a list of what Jack assumed were potion ingredients. He turned to face Michael and thrust the list at him. "Michael, go get these from that closet. You know, the one with the sign."

Michael stared at him, unimpressed. "You mean the one that says 'do not enter'?" 

"Yep, that's the one!"

Michael sighed one more time before he turned and headed into the back. This time he stopped before he reached the stairs and tried the knob on the closet with the "do not enter" sign on it. It was unlocked and he cautiously stepped inside the closet. 

The first thing he processed was how dark it was, though the light filtering in through the open door helped him find the light switch. As soon as the bare bulbs set into the ceiling flickered on Michael could tell the contents of the closet belonged to a witch. The smell of dried herbs was almost overwhelming and for a few seconds Michael had to breathe through his mouth to stop making his head spin. There were bottles lining the walls, some empty and some full of different colored liquids. The shelves were weighed down with oddities, some things he didn't want to guess the names of and others that he could. There were sticks and rocks and brooms and Michael half expected to find pointed black hats hanging on the wall. 

He glanced down at the list Geoff had scribbled. There wasn't a lot of stuff but it was a little hard to read Geoff's writing. He found the rocks and sticks that were, thankfully, neatly labeled. He couldn't say the same about a vast majority of the closet's contents. Some of the writing he was certain wasn't in English. He reached up to grab the last item Geoff needed when he felt his hand bump against something and a dull thump and a crack rang through the small space. Michael froze and looked down, seeing a bottle, now with a large crack going across the top, laying on the floor. 

Michael gulped before picking it up and placing it vaguely where he knocked it down from. He hoped that wasn't important. 

He grabbed the last item and left the closet quickly. 

He didn't notice the lights flicker and he didn't see that shadowy figure that took shape, tilting its head curiously and following.


	5. A Walk Home

Michael didn't keep track of the days but he was fairly certain it was about a month before Lindsay came back. If he was being completely honest with himself he'd say he was disappointed that she didn't visit more, but he would never say so out loud. The monotony of the work was starting to set in and he was eager for something to happen. He’d taken to working on his… transformations when there was no one in the store with him. With everyone constantly reminding him it was unhealthy to keep what he was bottled up it kind of boiled down any hesitations he had. Besides, they’d be able to handle it if anything went wrong.

The day started out slow, with minimal customers and ample time to talk. Michael was the first to start, opening his mouth and catching Ray's attention with a, "Hey, dude, do you remember when we were kids and you got picked on a lot?" 

Ray put away his DS that he had been playing and twisted his face into something like a grimace. "I tend to not think about that but yeah, I do."

Michael hummed before saying, "Do you remember what that dude's name was? The guy I got suspended for beating up?"

Ray sighed. "Kevin. He liked to pick on me a lot."

"Yeah, but I knocked that smug look off his face. I bet you could have, too, if you tried."

"Heh, maybe. I'm pretty sure my family would have straight up murdered me if I had, though," Ray returned with a small grin. 

There was lull in the conversation so Ray pulled out his DS again. Michael started grinning a bit at Ray, who noticed the look quickly and stared back at him, slightly unimpressed. "Stop smiling at me. It's creepy."

"But I've got something to show you, Ray," Michael said, grinning even bigger. He shifted his chair closer to Ray and laid his hands over the counter. "So I've been practicing a thing."

Ray raised an eyebrow. "Is it a skin changer thing?" Michael nodded. "Alright, well shit dude, go ahead and show me if you want."

Michael nodded again and closed his eyes. He opened and closed his hands a few times before he took in a deep breath and concentrated. He felt the same pins and needles sensation he was starting to get used to as his hands changed before it spread up his arms. Around his shoulder was where it abruptly stopped and Michael could only huff in annoyance. He opened his eyes and surveyed his progress. His arms were covered in coarse brown fur and his hands looked more like claws. Ray let out a low whistle. 

"That's fucking cool, dude. You've been practicing?" Michael nodded and pulled his arms back, tracing his hands over the strange fur as it disappeared. "Good job! You're getting there."

"Yep. It's easier than I thought it would be." Ray gave him a thumbs up and as genuine a smile as he could muster. Michael opened his mouth to talk more but the bell over the door rang out and they both closed their mouths. It wasn't long until Lindsay wandered into view. "Lindsay!" Michael heard himself say and immediately felt his face flush. 

Ray laughed at him. "Got a crush there, Michael?" 

"Shut the fuck up, Ray," Michael muttered. He turned his attention to Lindsay who was holding the strap of her messenger bag tightly as she smiled at him. It was a little less nervous then it had been last time, but still obviously uncertain. "What, uh, what can I get you this time? Need me to get Geoff again?"

She laughed and rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, I do. He said I could come visit him the last time I was here, though? Would that be ok?" 

"Sure," Michael said immediately, motioning for her to follow him before Ray stopped Michael. 

"Hey, dickhead, you've gotta man the cash register. I'll take her to Geoff's room," Ray said, and Michael glared at him and his hands curled into fists. Ray grinned at him and winked. "Don't worry, I won't, like corrupt her with my lameness. But seriously though, stay here. I want to talk to her." Michael reluctantly backed off. 

"Alright," he grumbled. He went back to his post as Ray turned to Lindsay. 

"So I don't think I've met you yet," he said, and Lindsay shook her head. "Well, I'm Ray." 

"Lindsay," she replied, smiling a bit. "Who, uh, who's the other one?" She motioned vaguely to Michael. 

"You mean the loud mouthed, short tempered cashier?" Ray asked, and she nodded. "His name's Michael. I've known him for years. Great guy, not exactly human if you know what I mean." Her eyes widened at that and she followed closely behind Ray as he started walking down the hallway to Geoff's living space. 

"W-what do you mean?"

"Well, Geoff told me he told Michael he was a witch, and I assume you're the reason for that, so I feel like you should at least know." Lindsay looked a bit confused so Ray elaborated. "He's a skin changer. Like, those dudes that turn into animals and shit."

"Woah... really?" Ray nodded and Lindsay looked down at the ground before muttering, "I've... uh, never met a supernatural creature before."

Ray just grinned at her. "Well, if you stick around, you're bound to see more. Anyways, this is Geoff's room. Have fun," Ray waved as Lindsay started climbing the stairs. With that done he turned and headed back to the main store. He'd have to leave soon... it was getting late. 

-.- 

Back in the main store Michael shivered and rubbed his arms. It felt like there was someone watching him and he didn't like it. Like, at all. It was a terrible feeling, and he wanted it to stop but he had no idea where it was coming from. 

"Do you feel that?" Jack asked, and Michael almost screamed. He spun around to face the spirit, his face red and angry. 

"Don't fucking sneak up on me, Christ! Warn a guy would you?" Jack didn't look like he heard Michael and that only served to feed his anger. 

"I think... I think there might be another spirit here. Or maybe a ghost, I can't tell. Which is strange." Jack was looking around, as if he expected to see someone else pop out of thin air like he always did. 

"I- you do?" Michael asked, forgetting his anger for the moment. "You can't... see it or whatever with your weird spirit shit?" 

Jack shook his head. "No, not unless they want to be seen. I'm not rude, Michael." 

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, ok, well what're we going to do about this ghost? Is it going to try to like hurt us or knock shit down or something?" 

"I don't know," Jack murmured. He blinked before he stood up straighter and said, "I'm going to talk to Geoff." With that he disappeared.

"Wow," a voice next to Michael said, and he jumped. "Better call the ghost busters."

"Ray!" Michael shouted. "What the fuck? It's bad enough when Jack does it, don't you start too!"

Ray shrugged and grinned crookedly. He scratched the stubble on his beard nervously. "Sorry, Michael. I gotta go. It's getting late." 

Michael glanced out the window, noting that it was indeed getting late. He would have to head home soon too. "Alright, well, bye, Ray."

He grinned crookedly. "Bye, Michael. See you tomorrow."

With that he left, the bell over the door ringing loudly through the quiet store. For a while there was only the low hum of the refrigerators and lights and the ever present creaking under the floor. Michael could just barely hear voices filtering through the ceiling, where he assumed Geoff's rooms was. He couldn't tell what they were saying, though, so he got up and walked over to the front door, flipping their open sign to say "closed." He doubted anyone would want to get into the store tonight. There was a curfew after all. 

He turned around just as he heard the back door open and say Lindsay walk out. Her bag looked marginally heavier than it had when she'd arrived and she looked significantly happier. "Oh, hi," she said when she saw Michael, sending him a small grin. "I was, uh, just going to head home." 

Michael glanced out the window worriedly. "It's getting late. Are you sure you'll make it home before curfew?" 

She blinked at him. "Uh... curfew?" 

"Yeah," Michael nodded. "There used to be, like, a ton of huge ass wolves that lived here. They only came out at night for whatever reason, though, so people started enforcing a curfew. I don't know if the wolves are still there or if they like... died or something but the curfew's still in place so I’d assume so." 

"Oh," was all Lindsay said. "Well I guess I'd better... go now?" It was painfully clear that what Michael had told her had freaked her out. Honestly, he didn't blame her. Who wouldn't be scared of getting attacked by wolves in the night? 

"If you want I could... walk you home?" Michael felt his face burn. "I- I mean, if you want to. I'm sure you can go by yourself but-" 

"Oh, no, yeah, if it wouldn't be too much trouble...?" 

Michael shook his head. "No, no, it's not too much trouble. Just let me grab my bag and we can go." She smiled and nodded as Michael rushed to where he kept his backpack and hoodie under the counter. He pulled his hoodie on and slipped his phone into his pocket before he slung his backpack over his shoulder. 

He walked back to Lindsay. "Alright, let's go," he said before pushing the door open. The blast of cold air that greeted Michael made him shiver. It was getting later in the year and for some reason it was especially cold. Soon enough they were walking in silence with Lindsay leading the way. 

They had been walking for a few minutes before Lindsay finally said, "So, uh, I’ve never met a supernatural creature before." 

Michael had to force himself not to stop walking. He breathed deeply, trying to calm down his racing heart. _Lindsay is a witch, she has as much reason to avoid hunters as you do, she won't rat you out_ , Michael reminded himself. _Besides, you don’t know for sure that she’s talking about you._ Michael swallowed and forced himself to calm down. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do other witches not count?"

Lindsay shook her head. "No, witches are technically humans with magical blood, at least the true witches are. There's a difference between practicing witchcraft and being a witch, you know. Mainly it’s witches can actually, like, cast spells and shit..." Lindsay trailed off. 

"That sounds cool," Michael tried. "I bet you've got some good stories." Lindsay seemed to brighten a bit at that and she laughed loudly, presumably remembering something that happened. 

"Oh boy, yeah, I do."

The remainder of the walk was spent telling stories and cracking jokes, and by the end Michael was sad they had to part ways. "Hey, let me see your phone," Lindsay said, and Michael pulled it out. He unlocked it before handing it to her and she pressed a few buttons before handing it back. She had made herself a contact in his phone, right next to the only other two contacts, Ray and his uncle. "Just send me a message whenever. I'll know it's you. I don't... get a lot of texts."

"Alright, cool," Michael grinned. Lindsay turned and waved before disappearing into the apartment complex she was staying in. It was one of the low end ones, not exactly terrible but certainly not the best, either. 

With Lindsay gone Michael was left to walk home alone. He made it back just as the sun set completely, slipping inside and turning on his phone. He sent a text to Lindsay, saying, "Just got home."

It took a few seconds for her to respond. "Did you get attacked by one of those wolves on your way?"

Michael rolled his eyes. "Haha, very funny." 

"I try."


	6. Djinni in a Bottle

The next day at work started with Geoff marching in about an hour after the store opened. Michael was at his usual place and Ray was stocking some shelves. "Alright, assholes, front and center." 

Michael rolled his eyes but walked over to him, wondering what stupid shit they’d get up to today. Jack appeared a second later, saying, "Yeah, Geoff?" 

"We have a ghost problem. Or maybe it's a spirit problem. I don't know and neither does Jack. Thankfully, though, there's a medium in town and I got into contact with her and she agreed to help us out."

"What's her name?" Ray asked, looking genuinely curious. 

"Barbara Dunkleman," Jack supplied after Geoff failed to respond. " _Please,_ at least try to remember her name, Geoff. She's helping us, the least we can do is remember who she is."

Geoff waved his hand at Jack, obviously not too focused on remembering a name at the moment. "Yeah, yeah, right, well she should be here any minute, so keep your eyes open."

Things went normally for a while after that, though Jack and Geoff hung around in the main store. When the bell over the door rang everyone sprang to attention. Michael craned his neck to see who it was, catching sight of two people, one with familiar red hair and the other with long blonde hair. "Lindsay!" Michael greeted her, and she waved at him. 

"Hi Michael," she said, grinning. The other girl nudged her and Michael got his first good look at her. She was a bit older then he was, but only a bit. Her clothes were made of brightly colored fabrics and layers. Her skirt reached halfway down her thigh before it broke off and multicolored tights led down to worn sneakers. Her arms were weighed down by bracelets and her neck by necklaces with all kinds of crystals and feathers. "Oh," Lindsay said, "This is Barbara. She said Geoff called her?" 

Geoff spring to his feet and rushed over to Barbara, taking her hand and shaking it harder then was strictly necessary. "Yes, hello, I'm Geoff. You must be the medium I talked to?"

She smiled brightly at him. "Yep, that's me! I hear you've got a spirit problem you need solved." 

Geoff rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah... we’re actually not too sure? You know how hard it is to tell the difference. May be a ghost for all we know."

"As long as there's one of the two, I can do my work," Barbara said matter of factly. "Would you like to talk to the entity or would you just like me to expel it? I feel like it would be worth it to mention it’s very rude to just kick them out without talking to them first." 

"Uh... ok, I guess we can talk to them first?" Geoff muttered, clearly not used to this. Michael was actually surprised that _he_ was taking all this so well. Witches? Hunters? Spirits? It was all hard to believe. _Well, you’re a monster_ , he thought, _figures you’d settle into this so quickly._

“Ok,” Barbara said cheerfully, breaking Michael out of his thoughts. She pointed to Jack, who stiffened under her gaze. "I don't assume he's the one you're trying to talk to so he needs to leave the building as long as this is going on or else I might accidentally summon him instead of who you want." 

"Oh," Jack said, though he didn’t look like he was particularly fond of the idea of leaving. If there was one thing Michael had learned about him was that he was fiercely protective of the ones he deemed worthy of protecting. But, even so, he nodded. "Uh... sure. Call me when you need me." And with that he was gone. 

"Alright then, let's get party started," Barbara said excitedly, rubbing her hands together. "Whatever you've got in this store isn't anything I've encountered before, I would have known if it was. It's something new, so let's approach this with caution. We wouldn't want an angry spirit on our hands." 

"Alright," Geoff nodded, "Then what do we do?"

"Uhh..." Barbara muttered. Her right hand was clasped around one of her many necklaces and her other hand was deep in a pocket Michael hadn't even known was there. "Well, you don't do much besides talk to them. I'm just the doorway." She hummed a bit before nodding. "Alright, everyone step back," she warned, and Ray and Geoff took a large step away from Barbara. Lindsay and Michael were already far enough, so they stayed put. 

Barbara took a deep breath and the lights flickered for a second before they shut off completely. Everyone shouted, mainly in confusion, but before anyone had a chance to do anything the lights turned back on and they could see again. The first thing Michael noticed was how Barbara's eyes had changed from a dark brown to a strangely glowing green. She blinked and swayed a bit and everyone shut their mouths when they saw her. Michael squinted a bit, noting something wobbling in the air in front of her. It looked vaguely like a person, though he couldn’t be sure. All he was sure of was that it moved in sync with Barbara.

She opened her mouth, though the words that rang through the store didn’t seem to come from _her._ "I... well this feels sodding weird now doesn't it?" Barbara... or, the spirit said, it's voice meshing with Barbara's, creating a sort of echo. 

Ray was the first to speak, though it took him a few times to get words to come out. "Uh... what?" Barbara's head turned toward him and it tilted in confusion, the shimmer in the air presumably doing the same.

"What? Is something wrong?" The spirit looked around and its eyes widened as it took in its surroundings. “Well… this is certainly different.”

"Who are you?" Geoff finally managed to choke out, his voice cracking near the end. The spirit snickered at him. 

"My name's Gavin. Or... yeah, Gavin. I was... well, I was trapped for a while. A bloody long while." The spirit finally managed to notice Michael because it - he? - brightened a bit and pointed at the skin changer. "By you! You broke the bottle, didn't you?"

Before Michael could respond Geoff's face turned into something that Michael could only interpret as him having a revelation. "You're a Djinni!" 

Gavin nodded. "Yep. Been in your store for... a long time. No one bothered to mess with me after... well, never mind." Gavin lapsed into silence, his gaze trailing everything around him. 

"So you were... in that bottle I knocked down?" Michael asked and Geoff stiffened.

"What bottle?" he asked urgently and Michael was a bit taken aback by how concerned he sounded. 

"I- I don't know? It was... green I think? And it had a lot of, like, designs on it?" Geoff nodded and started walking towards the door to the back quickly. 

"W-wait," Gavin choked out, sounding panicked. He looked down at his hands in confusion. He tried to take a step forward only for the strange glow to disappear from Barbara's eyes and the shimmer in the air solidifying into something that looked a bit like a shadow and started moving towards Geoff. "Y-you can't put me back in there- please don't put me back in there," he pleaded, reaching out a hand to try to do something - anything, really - to get Geoff to stop. 

Barbara shouted something that definitely didn't sound like English and Gavin froze, the dark around his form fading away and leaving... well, a dude. Granted, he looked like a television with poor reception, but still undeniably a person. His hair stood up every which way and his eyes were a startlingly bright green, almost glowing, like Barbara’s had been. His clothes were strange, baggy pants and a vest that left bare arms all the way down to his wrists where two golden cuffs rested. A scarf wound around his neck, almost covering his mouth. "We're not going to lock you away again," Barbara said calmly. "Geoff is probably just worried."

"Worried?" Ray questioned. "About what? He's just a scrawny dude."

Barbara shook her head. "He's a djinni. They're... well, to tell you the truth, extremely dangerous." 

Michael, for whatever reason, found himself wandering towards Gavin, only half listening to the conversation going on. "You keep saying genie, like the dude from Aladdin, right? Does he grant wishes too?"

"I wouldn't recommend trying it. Historically they were locked away for doing things they shouldn't have and not doing what the king wanted them too. If Gavin is one of those djinn that were locked away... that makes him very, very old." Barbara paused. "And it's djinni, spelled D-J-I-N-N-I." 

Gavin, meanwhile was still more or less routed to the spot. He looked extremely agitated and honestly Michael couldn't blame him. He reached out a hand to get his attention, only for his arm to pass through Gavin like he wasn't even there. "Oh," was all Michael could say in surprise, any words he had suddenly leaving him. 

It got Gavin's attention, though, and he turned his head to look at Michael. His eyes wandered all over him, seemingly taking in everything about Michael. It felt strange, to say the least. Almost like any physical contact with Jack. Maybe it was just a spirit thing. 

"Hi," Michael finally said, not liking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen over the store. Not even Ray was talking anymore. 

Gavin blinked. "Hullo." 

"So, uh, how long have you been here?" He motioned vaguely to the store. 

"A long time."

"Uh... yeah, but how long?" 

Gavin's face screwed up in concentration. He was silent for a few moments before his shoulders dropped and he frowned. "I... I don't know. I couldn't... I couldn't see anything, only hear it. Doesn't exactly make figuring out the date easy."

"Wait," Ray said slowly, looking slightly concerned. "You could... you could hear things? What... uh, what kind of things?"

Michael was tempted to crack a joke but the serious look on Ray's face stopped him. Instead he just let Gavin answer. "Lots of things. Can't think of anything specific right now. It's... a little overwhelming. Being out, I mean."

The door to the back room opened as Gavin finished talking, and Geoff walked out, holding the same bottle Michael remembered knocking over. His face was tired and slightly annoyed. "Alright, asshole," Geoff started, and Gavin, much to everyone's surprise, tensed and ran to hide behind Michael. Geoff's expression softened a little and he began again, in a slightly softer tone, "Hey, it's alright, dude. We're not gonna trap you again. As long as you're not a total ass." 

Gavin poked his head over Michael's shoulder. "Really?"

Geoff rolled his eyes. "Yes, really. But since Michael's the one that let you out he has to take care of you." With that he tossed the bottle to Michael and he caught it easily. It felt strangely warm under his hands, the symbols decorating the top of it broken by a long crack. 

Barbara walked over and held out her hand, saying, "Can I see that, please?" Michael held it over after a moment's hesitation. It wasn’t like he didn’t trust Barbara it was just… he felt strangely protective over it. Something told him it wasn’t his own choice that he was feeling like that, and he glanced over to Gavin, though he was looking just as agitated as before, if not even more so.

It was silent for a few minutes as Barbara seemed to look over the bottle, turning it around and running her hands over the runes. She looked up and studied Gavin, who seemed to shrink away from her, once again hiding behind Michael. She nodded in satisfaction. 

"Well you didn't fully break the seal. You only weakened it." 

"Ok?" Michael said in reply. "What does that mean?"

"It means Gavin is still bound to the bottle. I wouldn't assume that he can get very far away from it before it pulls him back. And he doesn't have a full grasp on his magic, since the bottle is meant to dampen it." She shrugged. "Don't know what else it might mean. You're gonna have to figure that out for yourself." 

She handed the bottle back to Michael before she turned to Geoff. "Welp, if that's all you need me for I'll be going. It was nice meeting all of you," she said with a smile, waving as he started to head out the door. 

"Thanks a lot, Barb," Geoff called after her. He turned to Lindsay then, saying, "I assume you came because you need some more pointers? Or are you going to steal more of my potion supplies?"

She laughed at him and Michael could only barely keep himself from grinning. Her laugh was infectious. "A little bit of both. I'll see if I can hang out with you later, Michael," she said, and he nodded. 

"Yeah, yeah, that would be really cool. See you later Lindsay." He waved and soon enough it was just Michael and Ray in the store. Well… and Gavin, though he was strangely quiet the whole time. The day passed quickly after that and before he knew it he was home. 

He threw his backpack onto the kitchen table and trudged to his room, flinging himself onto his bed with a groan. For some reason the day had taken a lot out of him and all he wanted to do was pass out right then and there. Too bad a voice ended that train of thought almost as quickly as it had sprung up.

"Your house is a lot different from Geoff's shop."

He'd forgotten that Geoff made him take Gavin home with him. Great. He sat up a bit, running a hand through his hair and blowing air out of his nose. "Yeah no shit. My house is for living. Geoff's is for... whatever the hell Geoff does."

Gavin made a humming noise and sat down next to Michael. He noted that the djinni didn't seem to weigh anything as the mattress didn't shift under his weight. "I like it. It's... different."

Michael's eyes wandered around his room, taking in the worn furniture, most of it covered with dust that he never bothered to clean. The floor was dirty with random bits of trash he needed to pick up but never really found the motivation to and clothes that has fallen on the ground that he'd need to clean later. His possessions were stacked and balanced on every surface, anything from books he rarely touched to his computer that he, surprisingly, rarely used as well. Michael shrugged. "I don't assume that it's too different from other people's bedrooms."

"Yeah, but... it's different then the rooms I'm used to." Michael raised an eyebrow at that. Barbara had said he'd been trapped a long time, but...

"How fucking old are you?" he asked before he really thought about it. 

Gavin jumped a bit at the question. "I, uh, don't know."

The way he refused to meet Michael's eyes told him he was lying. The way he hunched his shoulders and wrung his hands told him that Gavin really didn't want to think about it right now. "Alright, well, how about I show you how we make a modern dinner, old man?"

Gavin laughed at that but nodded eagerly. The rest of the night was spent learning more about each other and, in Michael's case, just how annoying Gavin really was.


	7. More Than Just a Teenage Witch

"I can help you with that, you know," Gavin said, startling Michael out of his concentration. It had only been a few days and already Gavin was starting to grate on his nerves. He bared his teeth at him and had to force himself not to lunge at the annoying prick. While Michael had gotten better at controlling his transformations he was having trouble with the instincts that came with them. He was sure he'd get the under control sooner or later but for now it was a hurdle he had yet to jump over. He could hold himself back when he needed to and he supposed that was the most anyone could expect.  
  
"What do you mean?" Michael asked, his voice sounding bit gravely. He flexed his fingers and was still amazed by how different it felt when his arms were partially transformed. They felt strangely stiff and clumsy. The palms of his hands were padded and his fingers ended in hard black nails.  
  
"I mean I can help you with your... thing." Gavin made a vague motion that Michael took to mean his transformations.    
  
"How?" Michael forced out, running a hand over his arm, the hair disappearing slowly. Gavin sat down in front of him.  
  
"I'm a djinni. We... well, we can do a lot of things. We can possess people, we can shapeshift, and we've got a tremendous amount of magic at our disposal. I can... well, I can only do two of those things at the moment. But I can help." He gulped before rubbing the back of his neck. "I just need your permission to, er, help you. And, uh, if you released me fully I’d be able to do even more."  
  
Michael squinted at him. "You mean you want my permission to possess me." He blinked as he processed the last part. “And you want me to what?”  
   
He shrugged, his eyes leaping around his room, refusing to meet Michael’s. "Yeah. I don't need it but I figure it's nicer than just taking control by force. And, uh, I’d have more access to my magic if you released me.”  
  
There was silence as Michael thought about it. On one hand he wasn't sure he trusted Gavin completely but... he wasn't making as much progress as he would have liked with his transformations. "I'll think about it," Michael finally said. Geoff had said something, though, about releasing djinn. He hadn’t said much, just that it was bad news for everyone. “I’m not going to release you, though.” Gavin wilted at that.

“But Michael!” Gavin whined, but he held up a hand as his phone vibrated. It was a text from Lindsay, saying, "Hey are you busy today?" Michael raised an eyebrow at his phone. Why was she asking?  
  
"What's that?" Gavin asked, leaning over his shoulder to read the text.  
  
Michael stopped typing his reply and stared at Gavin, slightly dumbfounded. "You... you don't know what a phone is?" He supposed it made sense. He’d said he had been trapped for a long time. That narrowed just how long to… not a lot. It wasn’t like phones had looked like the one in Michael’s hand for very long.  


Gavin seemed to consider his question. "Well, I know you can use it to call people who are far away from you but I didn't think it looked like that. I've never seen one before."  
  
"Weird," Michael muttered as he tapped at his phone, sending, "I don't have work today so yeah I'm free. What's up?" in reply to Lindsay's message.  
  
"Is Lindsay the blonde one?" Gavin asked, still reading his texts. He wanted to reach out and shove Gavin away from him but his hand would probably just pass through the annoying spirit. Gavin had the talent to become tangible only when it was convenient for him and frankly it was annoying.  
  
"No, she has red hair,” Michael muttered, scooting away from Gavin as he waited for Lindsay to respond again. “I think it might by dyed though... I'm not sure."  
  
"Oh," Gavin said, scooting along with Michael. "I think I remember her."  
  
Michael didn't reply before Lindsay sent another text. "Want to hang out today?"  
  
Michael felt his face start to burn as he replied, "What, like a date?"  
  
"Nah, just to hang out. We could like see a movie or something? I don't actually know what all there is to do around here."  
  
"Oh," he sent, "Sure. That'd be fun."  
-.-  
Michael waited impatiently next to the General Store, his fingers drumming over where his phone was in his pocket. He was alone, having asked Geoff to watch Gavin for the day and everyone else just not there. The sun was getting lower but it wasn't at the point where he should start to worry that Lindsay wasn't going to meet him there.

Instead he just tapped his foot and pulled at the strings of his hoodie, staring out at the street. There weren’t a lot of cars, as the town was generally small enough to just walk everywhere. It didn’t make much of a difference to him, though, seeing as his uncle was the one with the car and since he was gone most of the time that meant Michael couldn’t drive the car. That meant a lot of walking. Or bike riding, but honestly Michael would rather just walk. No chance of falling down and breaking your elbow. He rubbed his arm and winced at the memory.  
  
It was a few more minutes before Lindsay scared the shit out of him by tapping him on the shoulder and saying, very loudly, "Hey! What kind of loser just stands there alone?"  
  
Michael spun around to face her, a scowl trying to keep itself on his face as his lips tried to smile. "A loser that's waiting for you. Are we gonna go now, or what?"  
  
She grinned and nodded, her familiar messenger bag slung over her shoulder. "Yeah I am. Where should we go first?"  
  
They ended up wandering through the town for a while, stumbling into the group of stores that only barely classified as a mall. Lindsay dragged Michael through a few clothing stores and he grumbled the whole time, not daring to admit that he did, in fact, enjoy himself. Lindsay convinced him to buy a new shirt, saying, "You need something fancier then a bunch of T-shirts if you ever want to get anywhere in life," as she shoved him into a dressing room with an armful of dress shirts.  
  
He tried on a few, some of them button down, some of them collared, all of them just a little bit uncomfortable. He supposed that's what came from clothes with the tags still on them and the stiffness from the store still in the creases but it didn't make them more comfortable. Eventually he just bought a light blue button down shirt at Lindsay's insistence as well as a new pair of pants and they left the clothing store.  
  
They went through an assortment of random stores, some because Lindsay said they should and others because they thought it would be funny or interesting. Lindsay had pulled him into a store that sold candles and perfumes and all manner of crystals. It reminded him a lot of the small section in Geoff's store and Lindsay had picked up what looked like a deck of tarot cards to buy. Michael didn't buy anything, though he had lingered near a book that was, apparently, "All About Monsters."

He probably would have considered buying it except for the fact that he didn’t want Lindsay to see him get it. Maybe another time.  
  
The sun was starting to go down when Lindsay insisted they visit a nursery and, once they had gotten there and it turned out to be the type of nursery for plants and not for children, Michael was a bit more willing to linger. It was close to the sparse forest that fringed one side of the town and the leaves from the trees were already starting to fall and cover the sidewalk. Once they entered it became apparent that Lindsay knew exactly where to go and what she wanted, picking up seemingly random plants and seeds to buy. Michael caught the labels of a few of them, noting the weird names and weirder shapes. He caught some names like aconite, alder, and wormwood. One was labeled wolfsbane and while Michael didn't know much about the uses for plants he did know what that one was for.  
  
When they finally left the nursery (more like kicked out as it was getting later and the curfew would start soon) Michael noted with a sinking heart that the sun had already gone down. They had lingered too long and now they had to rush to get back home. "I guess we should... probably call an end to this, then," Michael said lowly, his ears straining and his fingers twitching. He felt extremely uneasy and he had no idea why.  
  
"No," Lindsay said so firmly that Michael couldn't find it in himself to leave or argue. "We need to stick together, at least for now."  
  
Michael raised an eyebrow but followed as Lindsay started walking. "Why?" he asked.  
  
"Because... because something is going to-" she was cut off by a growl.  
  
Immediately Michael stiffened and turned, forcing himself not to immediately panic as he saw what was making the noise and the curfew suddenly made a lot of sense. It was a wolf, that much was obvious. It was obviously far larger than a normal wolf, its fur matted and dirty in some places, though it was hard to tell in the dwindling light. A streetlight flickering on made its eyes practically glow a dangerous yellow. Michael gulped and stepped back, holding his arm out to push Lindsay away.  
  
"You need to leave," Michael said quietly, noting that the wolf took a step forward for every step he went back. "I- I can handle this." His hand curled into a fist as the pins and needles started to rush up and down it, urged on by his panic and the blood rushing through his ears.  
  
"No you can't," Lindsay said calmly but firmly. He could feel her shaking, though, and as the pins and needles spread he found he could almost smell her fear. He found a bit more of his senses were changing, too. Suddenly the light was too bright but the dark didn't seem so impenetrable. Suddenly everything was louder and he found it harder to focus. "Michael, take off your shoes," Lindsay said quietly, and it scared him when he found it hard to understand her. He did what she asked anyways, moving slowly as to not urge the wolf into attacking but he didn't think it would wait much longer.  
  
He felt a prickle in the back of his neck and he felt his body move and shift and it was a hundred times harder to keep his focus, but not impossible. He dimly heard clothes tearing and the cold getting chased away, his hands touching the ground and a growl ripping itself out of his throat. The wolf growled back and launched toward Michael, a blur of dark fur and claws. His movements were strangely slow yet powerful and he moved out of the way of the wolf, barely feeling the claws drag across his back. It didn't hurt and dimly he knew it wouldn't stay for long. He faced the wolf and swiped with his claws, the wolf dancing away and once again launching at him. He batted it away with a claw, moving towards where it had landed on the ground. He loomed over it and raised his claw to strike it again.  
  
He stopped when someone shouted at him, the words just barely registering in the back of his mind. "Michael, stop," someone said fiercely and he felt his arm fall and his head cock to the side. He tried to talk but found his mouth couldn't form words. The instincts were blocking most coherent thoughts but it was starting to fade. "You need to come back now, Michael. It's time to stop."  
  
He moved back, trying to calm down. If she said it was time to stop then it must be time to stop. He trusted her, and as he slowly felt the cold creep closer he started to process what he'd done. The wolf was picking itself up off the ground, a nasty gash on its side. His back throbbed dully and he felt something wet and sticky clump there. As the last of the instincts fell away his limbs - human limbs, he noted - felt extremely heavy. He felt his legs shake before giving out from under him and he sunk to the ground. He couldn't even move as the wolf finally got up and started moving towards Lindsay.  
  
Michael was about to call out but Lindsay reached into her bag and pulled one of the plants she'd gotten from the nursery out, somehow scaring the wolf and causing it to disappear into the woods where, Michael realized, it must have come from. Lindsay turned back to him, dropping a bag full of clothes in front of him. The ones she'd insisted he buy. "Get dressed, Michael," she said lightly. "I don't want to stare at your dick all the way home."  
  
Michael opened his mouth to talk but only a dry croaking came out. He slowly put on the clothes, his limbs weighing him down and his fingers feeling stiff and awkward as he tried to button his shirt. Once he was done he almost fell over but Lindsay, thankfully, caught him. "Were do you live? I can take you home. You look like you need to take a long nap."  
  
He pointed in the direction his house was, finding no energy to argue. They started walking, and Michael slowly pooled enough energy to say, "You're taking this awfully well."  
  
Lindsay laughed, but there was no humor in her voice. "I knew it was going to happen." Michael couldn't find it in himself to be shocked so he just tilted his head. "I'm... well, I'm a little bit more than just your average witch. But that's a story for another day. Which way?"  
  
Michael pointed again and Lindsay nodded.

“What was that?” Michael asked, hoping Lindsay would know he was talking about a wolf.

“Well,” she said slowly, “Just like I’m a bit more than a witch that was more than a wolf.”

Michael sighed. “A werewolf?”

“Yep,” Lindsay confirmed. “Good guess. Is this your house?”

Michael nodded and shuffled up his porch steps, waving goodbye to Lindsay as he entered his home. Soon enough he flung himself into his bed, his eyelids finally closing. He felt himself drift off to sleep, and he wouldn't remember the dreams he had except for a lingering feeling of dread and excitement and a distant voice talking to him, calling him back.


	8. Late Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, I'm not very happy with this chapter, but oh well.

He woke up stiff and sore and with a pounding head. The light barely streaming in through his window was much too bright and the blankets over him were too hot. With a groan he kicked his blankets off him and pushed himself out of bed, bemoaning the fact he would have to work today. But that was later. Right now he just needed to get some pills to make his headache go away.  
  
He stumbled into the bathroom, blearily downing two small white pills. He ran a hand over his face and sighed, looking up at the mirror that hung over the sink. The reflection that stared back at him surprised him and he jerked back, banging an elbow against the wall. He bit his tongue at the sharp pain and somehow managed not to swear.   
  
"Michael?" a voice rang through the halls. "What was that?"  
  
Oh shit, he thought dimly. It was his uncle. When had he gotten home? He wasn't there last night... wait... he had been out with Lindsay last night. And... and there had been a wolf...  
  
"U-uh," he croaked, clearing his throat and forcing himself to sound human. "N-nothing. Just fell. I'm fine."  
  
There wasn't anything after that so Michael crept back to the mirror, gently pushing at the rough skin and fur that was growing on his face. He pressed a hand against one cheek and screwed his eyes shut, willing it to go away. When he opened his eyes again he was met with a human face and he grinned a bit, glad he’d gotten more control over his transformations.  


He left the bathroom and wandered back to his room, picking out a change of clothes from his dresser. He quickly set to work getting dressed. As he took off the shirt he had slept in flakes of dried blood floated to the ground. And he blinked at it. He looked over his shoulder as well as he could, noticing for the first time the mostly scabbed over scratches on his back. He swallowed thickly, trying to push the foggy memories from the previous night away. He winced as his twisting pulled the wounds open, sending fresh blood down his back.   
  
Welp, time for another trip to the bathroom.  
-.-  
His uncle, to no one’s surprise, didn't bat an eyelash when he left a half hour later. He didn't ask what Michael was doing, where he was going, or anything a responsible guardian should ask. He just sat there, reading a newspaper, and generally being a waste of space.  
  
Michael had to keep himself from slamming the front door as he left the house. He walked quickly to the store, wincing at how bright the sun was as it did nothing to warm the air. He entered the store, quickly settling back into his post behind the cash register and hoping no one would ask about how he winced when he moved his back too fast. He could already feel the sparks of pain fading, though, and he knew it would only be about a day or two more before they were healed. It wasn't long before someone started talking to him, breaking him out of his thoughts.  
  
"Dude, you look like shit, what happened?" Michael groaned and looked up, meeting Ray's eyes. Despite his tone he looked like he was actually worried but Michael was willing to play along with his jokes.  
  
"I could ask you the same question." Ray just grinned, though it didn't make the bags under his eyes or the slight shaking in his legs go away. He also needed to shave his face, but Michael figured nagging him about sleep would be better. "Do you sleep? Like ever?"  
  
He shrugged. "I mean I try to. Doesn't always work."  
  
Michael raised his eyebrow but didn't get to say anything more because of a spark of energy laced up his back. He yelled and spun around, seeing Gavin with his hand out, looking slightly sheepish. "Er... sorry. I was just wondering what's up with your back."  
  
"What's up with his back?" Jack asked, and Michael had to stifle a shriek when the voice came from right next to his ear. Seriously, what was with spirits and just popping up at any given moment? The worst part was he was honestly starting to get used to it.  
  
"Nothing," Michael grumbled, pulling at his sleeve. He really didn’t want to talk about it. "Just something that happened last night."  
  
"Did you party too hard?" Ray asked, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere that had descended on their group. It didn't work, unfortunately, and Jack just looked even more serious.  
  
"Michael, what happened last night?" He felt a prickling race up his spine and his mouth start to open to form words. He clamped a hand over his mouth and glared at Jack, who raised his hands in surrender and the feeling went away. "Sorry I'm just... worried."  
  
"I was going to tell you anyways," Michael muttered, even if he didn’t really mean it. He knew Jack meant well but... sometimes he didn't understand boundaries. "I was hanging out with Lindsay yesterday. We stayed out too late and... and we got attacked by a wolf. It's ok though," he quickly assured everyone. "I, well, we both took care of it. Lindsay... she said she knew what was going to happen. So she prepared for it."  
  
"Prepared for what?" Gavin asked, not looking too concerned with the whole 'attacked by a wolf' thing. He seemed to be more interested in how Lindsay knew about it beforehand.  
  
"I... well, good news, I guess. I, uh, learned how to transform fully. Left me tired as shit but still."  
  
Jack blinked at him before smiling slightly. "That's great Michael but... what do you mean Lindsay knew it was going to happen?"  
  
"I don't know," Michael admitted. "She didn't really tell me the details, just that she knew. Well... she did say she was 'more than just your average witch' or something, but I don't know what that's supposed to mean."  
  
Jack seemed to mull that over. "I need to talk to Geoff," he said finally, nodding. "If Lindsay shows up again ask her about it." Jack sent a look at Ray before he disappeared, presumably to Geoff’s room if the loud swearing was any indication.   
  
"Why'd he look at me?" Ray muttered, a scowl slowly forming on his face. "I didn't do shit."  
  
Michael just shrugged and turned towards Gavin, wanting to get onto a new topic of conversation. Preferably one that didn’t involve a wolf. "Dude where's your bottle? Did Geoff fuck with it at all?"  
  
Gavin huffed and threw his arms in the air, quickly abandoning the earlier conversation. "No! The bloody asshole just chucked it under the counter and didn't bother with it again."  
  
Michael raised an eyebrow and looked under the counter. Sure enough it was there, wedged between a stack of loose paper and a few worn books. He brought the bottle out and turned it over absentmindedly in his hands. "He must have been busy yesterday."  
  
"Yeah, he was," Gavin conceded. "Making some potion or something. Don't know what it was, but apparently it was important enough to ward his room for an hour."  
  
"Hmm," Michael hummed, only barely caring. As far as he knew it was Geoff's business what Geoff got up to just like it was his business what he did with his free time. Gavin didn't say more, just hopped up onto the counter and sat there, swinging his legs and humming a song.  
  
"Hey, dude," Ray said quietly, tapping on Michael's shoulder. He opened his mouth and then closed it again, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn't bring himself to speak. Finally, though, he said, "Look, just... be careful, alright?"  
  
"Be careful of what, Ray?" Michael had a feeling he knew exactly what he was talking about and he really didn’t want to go down this path again.  
  
"Of the wolf," he said, looking down at the floor, refusing to meet Michael's eyes. "I don't... want you to get hurt or something."  
  
Michael wasn't sure what he should say in response to that. He considered getting angry before deciding it was probably better not too. Ray wasn’t _trying_ to be an asshole, unlike a certain djinni. "Well... thanks for worrying but I don't think it'll happen again."  
  
Michael missed the, "You don't know that for sure," from Ray because of the bell over the front door ringing and a customer walking in. They were one of the regulars that frequented the shop, dropping in every so often to buy groceries or random trinkets. Michael was never one to strike a conversation with a stranger so he didn't know much about them except that they tended to buy a lot of pain killers whenever they came it. It might have had something to do with the copious amounts of alcohol they bought as well.  
  
A few more customers came in throughout the day, not enough to be constituted as busy but enough to keep him and Ray from talking. It wasn't until later that Michael finally decided to ask Ray something that he'd been considering for a while.  
  
"Hey, dude," Michael yelled across the store at Ray. It was empty except for them and (he assumed) Gavin. "Want to hang out tonight?"  
  
Ray poked his head around the corner of a shelf he was stocking and raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"  
  
Michael felt his face heat up. "U-uh, it's just that we haven't gotten a lot of chances to hang out lately and I figured if you weren't too busy tonight we could?"  
  
Ray seemed to consider that, humming as he continued to stock the shelves. "I mean I could hang out for maybe two hours but after that I gotta go. Want to hang out at your house? Mine's kind of a dump."  
  
"Sure, dude, we could do that. Well... that means Gavin's gonna be there too."  
  
Ray shrugged and grinned as Gavin popped out of nowhere, shouting, "LADS PARTY!"  
  
"What?" Michael laughed. "Since when are we the lads?"  
  
"Since Jack and Geoff are both old farts," Ray piped up, his grin widening.  
  
"You two have talked about this?" Michael asked incredulously, his voice rising a few octaves. The grin that split his face revealed that he was kidding, but it lightened the mood infinitely and soon the three of them were laughing and joking, eager to get off work and go home.  
-.-  
The walk was quick and Michael just hoped that no one saw the three of them walking together. He was fairly sure Gavin didn't look normal, in any sense of the word. His eyes practically glowed, a few of his teeth looked irregularly pointed, as did his ears, not to mention the fact that he frequently seemed to fade and flicker at regular intervals before solidifying again. They certainly made a strange group together.  
  
When they reached his house Ray entered first, though Michael bumped into his back as he froze in the doorway. "Ray! What the fuck, dude?"  
  
"Who're you?" a familiar gruff voice barked at Ray, and he seemed to stiffen even more. Michael peeked over Ray's shoulder, taking in his uncle sitting at the kitchen table. A mug of coffee (?) sat in front of him and he seemed to be cutting out coupons from the newspaper that he still insisted they get.  
  
"Oh. This is my friend, R-"  
  
"I didn't ask you, Michael," his uncle barked, and he huffed and crossed his arms. What an asshole. "Who're you, kid?"  
  
"R-Ray," he forced out, and it was very obvious that this whole interaction was making him very uncomfortable.  
  
"Yeah? Why are you in my house?"  
  
Ray glanced back at Michael pleadingly, and he stepped in front of Ray, answering for him. "I invited him to hang out with me. He's my friend."  
  
His uncle just grunted and went back to his work. Michael grabbed Ray's arm and pulled him quickly to his room and only when the door had closed did Ray finally relax. He hoped desperately that his uncle would just leave them alone for as long as Ray was there.   
  
Gavin appeared next to them as soon as it was clear they wouldn’t have to deal with Michael’s uncle. At least for the moment. "Well he's a bit of an asshole, isn't he?"  
  
Michael had to laugh at that, loud and short, before his face darkened and he kicked the leg of his desk chair. "That's an understatement. I'm pretty sure the fucker doesn't care about me. Just stays here every so often so he doesn't have to pay rent and doesn't get hounded by child protective services." He sat down on his bed, pulling his legs up close to his chest. "I don't know why he'd be here for any other reason. I turn 18 in a few months. He doesn't have to be here."  
  
Ray sat down next to him, playing with the strings of his hoodie. "You could kick him out. I'm sure the house goes to you, not him. Or you could leave."  
  
Michael snorted. "I would have left, but I got a job. Now I'm gonna stay till I have enough money to fuck off to college or something. Maybe I'll... maybe I'll get a higher paying job somewhere else. Who knows."  
  
Ray shrugged. "I dunno. I like it here. It's a lot simpler then in New York." He trailed off, scratching at his arm. He seemed very twitchy and jumpy, shifting away from every small noise that was made in the old house.  
  
"You gonna tell me why you left now?" Michael asked, a small grin on his face. Ray didn't return it.  
  
"Nah. Not yet, anyways. Maybe someday."  
  
A heavy air fell on the small group. They lapsed into silence, just sitting there, until Gavin decided enough was enough and started talking. "You know, I've been here for years and I've never seen the town."  
  
Michael laughed at him. "Well, maybe we can go out sometime. See how you like the modern world."  
  
"Gaaaaay," Ray muttered under his breath, but Michael heard it.  
  
He bumped Ray's shoulder, saying, "Shut the hell up, Narvaez." And just like that they were back to talking and laughing like normal.  
  
Ray left when the sun set, saying he had some personal business to take care of, and that left only Gavin and Michael, the former of whom was uncharacteristically quiet.  
  
"Uh... were you, uh, serious? About taking me to see the town, I mean?" Gavin asked nervously, rubbing his hands together in his lap and refusing to look Michael in the eyes.  
  
"Sure," Michael said, not quite sure how to take this change in attitude. "I don't see why not?"  
  
Gavin's face split into a grin. "Thanks Michael!" he chirped, and it sounded so genuine that it floored him for a moment.  
  
"Uh... no problem, dude. We can go next time I don't have work." Gavin grinned and nodded and soon enough their conversation was straying to other topics and subjects. It was late when Michael finally decided enough was enough and set to work getting to bed. He hoped tomorrow would be easier.


	9. Thief Town

It was only three days before Michael could make good on his promise to Gavin. In that time the scratches on his back healed almost fully, something that probably would have been impossible, had he been human. Gavin had also taken to asking him to release him almost daily, changing the reasoning every day. On the first day he’d said it would make Michael’s life easier not having to carry a bottle around everywhere. Geoff had overheard and put a stop to it right there, telling Michael that no matter what Gavin was not to be released under any circumstances. That, unfortunately, did not stop Gavin from constantly asking and, in some cases, pleading.

As Michael pulled on his hoodie the afternoon he had promised to take Gavin out to see the town the djinni was practically vibrating with excitement, bouncing around and making noises that probably would have been impossible for him to make, had he been human. As it was Michael wasn't sure Gavin was even touching the ground, his feet hovering only about an inch off the wood.  
  
"Dude, calm the fuck down," Michael said sternly, and Gavin stilled. "I want to lay down some ground rules before we go out. First, can you wear something else?"  
  
"Wot?" Gavin squawked indignantly. "What's wrong with my clothes?"  
  
Michael rolled his eyes. "Well, first, your chest is bare. Secondly, people don't wear shit like that normally, in case you haven't noticed. And third you just look like an asshole."  
  
Gavin pouted but nodded, his eyes scanning over Michael's clothes. He snapped his fingers and in a blink his old clothes were replaced by an almost exact copy of what Michael was wearing, jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers, minus the hoodie. "How's this?"  
  
"I mean... I guess it's fine." People probably wouldn't look close enough to notice they were wearing the same thing... right? "But anyways, second rule, you don't leave my sight." Gavin nodded. "Third rule stop fucking asking me to free you. It's not going to happen." The djinni wilted at that but nodded.  
  
With that out of the way Michael grabbed the doorknob and twisted, pulling the door open and stepping outside, patting his pockets to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. He felt his phone, his wallet, his keys, and Gavin's bottle. It probably looked a little weird, sticking out of his hoodie pocket like it was, but Michael figured it couldn't be helped. He didn't know how sturdy it was and he didn't want to risk breaking it by shoving it in a backpack or something.  
  
Gavin followed closely as Michael started walking, practically skipping as his head whipped around. This was his first time out when a lot of other people were too and he seemed ecstatic to see how the world worked. Apparently he knew a bit from what he'd heard outside his bottle, but it was also something else entirely to be able to put faces and things to sounds and names.

When a car rushed past Gavin jumped and pointed, asking, "What's that?"  
  
Michael rolled his eyes but humored him. "It's a car."  
  
"That's a car?!" Gavin shouted, jumping up and down excitedly. "I didn't think it looked like that! What about that?" Michael blinked and tried to figure out what Gavin was pointing at this time.  
  
"Uh... a streetlight?" There wasn't much Gavin could be talking about. They spent most of the way to the mall like that, Gavin pointing and Michael humoring him and telling him what something was. He seemed to know the names of most things and what they did, he had just never seen them before.  
  
When Gavin asked, "Is that a printing press?" when pointing at a copier spitting out paper Michael burst out laughing. "Hey!" Gavin shouted indignantly, crossing his arms and pouting. "It's not that funny."  
  
Michael wiped away fake tears in his eyes as his laughter died down. Well, if nothing else he'd learned that Gavin was at least as old as Jack was. Which was to say very old. "No, it's not a printing press. Those haven't been used for... shit, I don't know man, like a hundred years? Maybe more?"  
  
"Oh," was all Gavin could say. He didn't even ask Michael to tell him what it really was, he just started walking again through the mall, looking at shops and people. He seemed to love the fashion of the twenty first century and by the time they'd passed half the stores Gavin's outfit was almost completely different from what it had been. He was wearing a jacket he'd seen in the window of a store, khaki pants, and a pair of red vans. His shirt had a creeper on it, something that had appeared when they'd stopped by a game stop and Gavin discovered minecraft.  
  
They stayed in the game stop for a while, Michael browsing some games before deciding he didn’t actually want anything and ended up playing the minecraft demo for the rest of the time there. It wasn't until he left the store and turned to say something to Gavin that he realized the djinni wasn't there anymore. "Gavin?" He called out, looking around frantically. Where the hell was he? Why hadn’t he noticed Gavin was gone sooner? His hand reached into his pocket, searching for the bottle with a sinking heart. When he realized he couldn't find it he panicked and started running, calling for his friend, hoping that he'd answer. He wasn't sure what to think of this. Did someone steal the bottle? Did he loose it? Had it fallen out of his pocket? Was Gavin alright?  
  
As he rushed through the various stores they'd visited Michael felt his panic increase. Where the hell was he?  
-.-  
"Go on, take it," Miles urged, pushing Blaine's back forcefully towards the dude playing a demo of minecraft a few feet away. "It's just sticking out of his pocket, he probably wouldn't miss it."  
  
"Yeah, dude, come on, do it," Aaron joined in. Blaine sent a helpless pleading look towards them but it did nothing but make Miles push that much harder. He finally gave in, walking quickly towards the older man his friends had picked out as their next victim. They had said if he wanted to prove himself as cool enough to hang around them he'd have to steal something. Or at least that’s what they’d said. They'd gone easy on him, they insisted. It was just sticking out of the dude's pocket. How hard could it be?  
  
Apparently not very hard, as Blaine walked by in a way he hoped was causal. He reached his hand out quickly and removed the bottle without the man noticing, returning to his friends quickly. Miles snatched it out of his hand, grinning. "Dude, sweet!" His fingers danced over it and Blaine reached out to take it back but Miles jerked his arm away. "Nope, we gotta get out of here before he notices we took it."  
  
Aaron nodded, following closely behind Miles as he walked out the store and into the fading sunlight. Blaine sent a worried look at the man he'd just stolen from before quickly following his friends out the door.  
  
They walked a fair distance away, out into the park that was empty at this time of night. The three of them sat down near the swings on the grass and Miles pulled out all the things they'd stolen throughout the day. Most of them were one dollar bills and random change, a few half melted candy bars and a tacky ring a woman had left behind at the food court. The bottle Blaine had gotten, though, seemed to draw their attention.  
  
"What do you think it's supposed to be?" Aaron asked, picking it up and turning it over. "Woah, dude, there's a nasty crack on the top, look," he said, pointing. There was something that looked an awfully like a rune on the top, cut in half by a jagged crack.  
  
"I don't know, maybe it's just for decoration?" Miles mused.  
  
Aaron scoffed. "Why would it be for decoration? It looks like too much trouble to carry to be for decoration."  
  
"Well then what do you think it's for, smart guy?" Miles huffed.  
  
"It's mine," a voice broke into their conversation and Blaine let out a very manly shriek, scooting quickly away from the stranger sitting next to him. He looked weird, hair sticking up at every angle and green eyes practically glowing. There was a feeling of muted power around him, though Blaine wasn't exactly sure what that meant.  
  
"Who the hell are you?" Miles squeaked, as freaked out as Blaine was. Only Aaron was hiding his shock, though his hands were visibly shaking. "When'd you get here?"  
  
The man blinked at them. "Uh... I'm Gavin. I've been here ever since you took my bottle."  
  
"Wha- but- what?" Aaron spluttered, the only one of them to be able to vocalize his confusion.  
  
"What?" Gavin questioned, tilting his head to the side. He really had no idea why these three kids didn't seem to be able to make sense. Michael and the others had taken meeting him fairly well. Were people these days really that distanced from the supernatural? "I told you, that's my bottle. I can't get far away from it as long as its spell is active."  
  
"Spell?" Miles asked, looking down at the bottle with renewed interest, taking the whole event into stride fairly quickly. Blaine still found his head reeling. "It's magic? What can it do?"  
  
"Not really anything. It's supposed to keep me in line or something. I don't really remember, it's been a long time," Gavin said with a shrug.  
  
"What... what are you?" Blaine asked, finally speaking up. Gavin's eyes swung to him and they seemed to bore through him, sending sparks through his limbs.  
  
Gavin's face split into a grin as he leapt up, his legs straightening and his feet not quite reaching the ground. "Well I'm glad you asked!" he said loudly, teeth white and bright and yet somehow Blaine didn't quite like the look in Gavin's eyes. "I'm a Djinni, born from fire and bound by King Solomon. Didn't really like that bloke. Guess that's why he got rid of me," he shrugged.  
  
Miles seemed to sit a bit straighter. "A genie? That means you grant three wishes right?" he asked eagerly.  
  
"Er... sure." This was the third time in his long life Gavin had heard the three wishes thing. It was probably one of the many human traditions he would never understand. "But there's a bit of a problem with that," he said slowly, pointing at the bottle still in Miles's hand. "That keeps me from using my magic to its full extent. I can't grant you wishes unless you free me."  
  
"Ok," Aaron butted in, grabbing the bottle from Miles's hands. "How do we do that?"  
  
Gavin grinned. This would be fun.  
-.-

Lindsay's head shot up from where it had been laying on her desk. She vaguely realized she must have fallen asleep reading the old spell book in front of her but that wasn't the most important thing. That was the dream she'd just woken up from. The feeling that something very not good was going to happen soon still plagued her mind. She stood up abruptly, pulling on her coat and slipping her phone and keys into her pocket. She knew where she had to go, and she needed to get there quickly.  
  
By the time she was pushing open the door to the General Store she realized she had no clear idea of how she was going to explain her dream to Geoff. Dreams frequently coming true were not common, not even among witches. Well... they had all easily accepted Gavin. Maybe they'd accept her as well. She just hoped it went over better with them then with her old teacher. She rubbed her arms and shuddered at the thought.  
  
"Lindsay? What are you doing here?" a voice broke through her thoughts. Geoff looked concerned from where he was standing behind the counter, talking to someone Lindsay didn't recognize. He stood like a hunter and she vaguely recalled Geoff talking about a retired hunter being his friend so she ignored him for now.  "You look like you just saw a ghost or something."  
  
"I- I, uh, we need to go," she panted, still terribly out of breath. Maybe running all the way to the store had been a bad idea. "Gavin's, uh, something bad is happening with him and we need to go now."  
  
"What?" Geoff asked, not moving an inch. The hunter that had been talking to him turned to face her with interest evident on his face. "Isn't he with Michael? What's happening? How... how do you know?"  
  
Lindsay ran a hand through her hair, resisting the urge to stick a finger in her mouth and start chewing the nail. This wasn't going to be easy. "I... I just know, ok?" Geoff didn't look impressed. "I had a dream, ok?"  
  
"A dream?" He asked incredulously. His face told her he didn't believe what she was saying and he wasn't going to come with her.  
  
"Do your dreams usually come true?" a voice asked next to her. She somehow managed not to jump, turning to see Jack, if she remembered his name correctly. He was the spirit.  
  
Lindsay took a deep breath. It was now or never. "Yes. Almost always."  
  
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Does it have to do with you being more than a witch?" Lindsay gulped and nodded, not questioning how he knew about that. Michael had most likely told him. "Alright. What are you, if not a witch?"  
  
"A prophet," she forced out before she could change her mind. She needed them to believe her. If they didn't she wouldn't be able to get them to help with what was going to happen to Gavin very soon. "I'm a prophet. I know something bad is going to happen because I saw it in a dream, ok?"  
  
Jack's eyes widened, as did everyone else's present in the store. "Oh," was the only thing Jack could say in response to the revelation. "Well... I guess we better go help Gavin then."  
  
Lindsay nodded eagerly and began to explain what she knew about what was going to happen.


	10. Confusion and Conflict

"No, you can't just shatter it," Gavin said indignantly. "There are fail safes for if that happens, one of which is essentially killing me. And I don't want that to happen for obvious reasons."  
  
"Oh," was all Miles could say, having been the one to suggest it. He turned the bottle over in his hands, looking it over. "Then... what do we do?"  
  
Gavin crossed his legs under him, about a foot off the ground now. He ran a hand through his already messy hair and seemed to consider the question. "Well... you could probably scratch the runes up enough that it'd loose power over me. But... if you do that it'd be easier to... well, never mind. It'll work for now."  
  
"Alright," Aaron said excitedly, digging into his pockets before producing what Blaine recognized as the key to his front door. "This should work."  
  
Gavin grinned and nodded. "Yeah, go ahead then."  
  
Aaron nodded and Miles handed him the bottle and he set to work, turning the bottle over in his hand and methodically scratching a long line through every rune. As it went Gavin's grin seemed to widen and his eyes seemed to glow brighter. His body started to look more solid, though Blaine hadn't noticed how strange and... static-y he had been before. When the final rune was crossed through he yelped and dropped the bottle. "Holy shhhhhhhhhit" Aaron hissed, waving his hand in the air and blowing on it. "That got really hot, what the hell?"  
  
A laugh stopped anyone from replying and Blaine turned, seeing Gavin standing - actually standing this time - a few feet away from them. He didn't look like a fairly normal guy anymore, he looked like he rightly deserved to be called a djinni. It was hard to tell where the irises of his eyes ended and the whites began, light practically sparking off of them. His hands were constantly moving and his foot was tapping. He looked almost like a child hopped up on sugar, refusing to be still for more than a second. He looked at his hands, turning them over and opening and closing the fingers. There was an unnatural aura of energy around him that didn’t promise anything good.  
  
He let out another short burst of laughter. "Well I don't think I could thank you enough," he opened his arms wide. "Though I remember promising a wish to each of you."  
  
Blaine couldn't find it in himself to be excited. He should be though, right? Infinite possibilities of what to wish for. He could make anything happen. But... he didn't like the look in Gavin's eyes or the shark-toothed grin he was sending Miles's way. He glanced at his friends, noticing that they obviously didn't think the same. Aaron looked like he was in deep concentration whereas Miles was practically jumping up and down in excitement.  
  
"Alright then, you first," Gavin said, pointing at Miles.  
  
"Oh, shit, really?" Gavin only nodded. "Uh, ok, well, I, shit, ok," Miles took a deep breath and seemed to collect himself. "Alright, I wish for immortality."  
  
Somehow Blaine wasn't surprised that's what he chose. Miles had always found movies and shows about immortals exceedingly interesting. Aaron grinned and bumped him on the shoulder. "Woah, that's a cool wish, bro." Aaron turned to Gavin and shrugged. "I can't think of anything better than that, so my wish is the same as Miles's."  
  
Gavin raised an eyebrow. "Alright, well, what do you define as immortal?"  
  
"Oh, you know, living a hundred lifetimes without aging," Miles said, waving his hand in the air dismissively. Blaine didn't miss the excited look in his eyes, though.  
  
"Ah I see," Gavin said slowly, a grin spreading across his lips. Blaine flinched away, not liking how the djinni's face looked. The smile was not friendly, it was not mischievous or grateful. It was scary, and Blaine took a step back as green crackled between Gavin's fingers before arching through the air and connecting with his two friends. They stilled and stared straight ahead. Blaine didn't like it, he didn't like the feeling he was getting from all of this. He took another step back and this time Gavin noticed. "Ah-ah-ah, you get a wish too," he said lowly, green still crackling and eyes narrowed into slits.  
  
Blaine was almost positive Gavin would have done something drastic had a voice not broken through to them. "Gavin?"  
-.-  
Michael had ended up searching for upwards of thirty minutes before he stopped scouring the mall and decided to look elsewhere. He started walking as the sun started to dip low over the horizon and the leaves under his feet crackled. He wasn't sure where he was going, he could only hope his feet would bring him to where he needed to be.  
  
They brought him to the park.  
  
He wasn't sure how to process the situation in front of him, three kids talking to Gavin and- Michael stopped when green energy crackled to life between Gavin's fingers and branch out towards two of the three kids. They stilled and seemed to stare into space. Gavin turned to the third, a kid with blond hair, who looked about ready to run away and said something. Michael took a step forward and said, worriedly, "Gavin?"  
  
The djinni in question spun around, his eyes landing on Michael. He had to stifle a gasp when he saw Gavin's eyes, glowing and sparking and narrowed even when he smiled. He didn't miss the bottle on the ground, the runes slashed through and useless. So this was what Geoff meant when he had said Gavin was dangerous. "Michael!" he said happily and spread his arms out. "Welcome to the party!"  
  
Just then the two kids Gavin had done... something to gasped and collapsed on the ground. One of them, this one wearing a plaid shirt, started grabbing his hair in fistfuls, his eyes wet and unfocused. The other one managed to stumble away, his legs unsteady. "What did you do to them?" Michael asked coldly, any trace of relief from finding Gavin again gone. He was dealing with something more powerful than he was, he could tell. The magic emanating from Gavin put a strange pressure in the air that wasn't exactly comfortable.  
  
"Oh, them," Gavin asked dismissively, waving vaguely towards the two kids who were a bit more composed now, though obviously still two complete messes. "They wished to live a hundred lifetimes. So I let them."  
  
"I- what?" Michael asked, not liking the tone Gavin was using. It was light and uncaring, though there was a shadow behind it that made it clear this was not the Gavin he was used to dealing with. "Gavin, what the fuck are you talking about?"  
  
"Don't worry about it, Michael," he said, a sickly grin creeping onto his face. A noise from the three kids made Gavin whip around. He flung a hand out and the three kids froze, the one with blond hair supporting the one in the plaid shirt that had collapsed earlier. "Now hold on, don't be rude. You still have one wish left."  
  
That was the final straw for Michael. He flexed his hand before launching himself at Gavin, turning his hands into claws as a growl ripped from his throat. Gavin didn't even turn around as he held out his other hand, stopping Michael in midair. He felt his breath leave him as if he had jumped right into a brick wall. Michael tried to move his hands, kick his feet, do something, but he found he couldn't move at all.  
  
"I’m not going back, Michael," Gavin said cheerfully, his back still to him. His shoulders dropped, though, and he said in a lower voice then before, "I don't want to go back." He sounded so… broken.   
  
Michael could only make a confused noise, seeing as most of his breath was still gone.  
  
"The world passed me by, while I was in that bottle. I was trapped there for centuries. So much happened in the world that I missed and... and now it's gone and it's insignificant in the face of history and I'll only ever know what I heard through cupboard doors because no one ever thought the tiny, insignificant bottle was anything more than useless." His hands dropped and Michael collapsed on the ground, taking deep breaths. Gavin finally turned, but he didn't meet Michael's eyes. "I don't want to be trapped again. I'm sorry."  
  
Just as he was starting to collect himself he felt another impact against his chest, though this time it was different. Instead of a brick wall it felt... sticky. It seemed to cling and wind its way through him, building a wall between him and what he was. He felt the magic force his hands back to normal as pins and needles raced all over his body. He only managed to hear a familiar voice shout something that didn’t sound like English before darkness covered his vision.  
-.-  
He woke with a start on what felt like a couch. He blinked away the black spots that danced in front of his eyes and tried to sit up. He felt a pressure on his chest and looked down to see a hand trying to push him back down. He followed the arm connected to the hand with his eyes, finding Ryan at the end of it, looking at him sadly. Michael resisted the urge to flinch away and instead laid back down on the couch.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Ryan asked softly.  
  
Michael opened his mouth to reply but found he didn't have the words to describe it. His chest felt hollow, his head felt empty, and his muscles ached. He finally settled on, "Bad," which he supposed summed it up just as well as an eloquent explanation.  
  
Ryan hummed. "I'm not surprised. Gavin put a nasty curse on you. I think Jack got most of it out but... there's still a bit left." At Michael's confused look he elaborated, "Gavin is... well, powerful, to say the least. That power goes to your head pretty quickly, especially if you've been without it for as long as he probably did. He made some bad decisions, one of which was... well, blocking your... transformations." At Michael's panicked look he quickly said, "Like I said, Jack removed most of it. It'll probably just be... a little bit harder than before to transform. Hopefully."  
  
"What happened to him?" Michael forced out, his voice scratchy and weak.  
  
"You mean Gavin?" Michael nodded. "Well... thanks to Lindsay we got there just in time to seal him away again but... not without some souvenirs." Michael blinked, just now noticing that Ryan's left arm was wrapped in bandages and in a sling. There were multiple scratches on his face and more bandages around his middle.  
  
"Dude... you got fucked up," was all Michael could say.  
  
Ryan laughed bitterly. "I've had worse. It's what happens when you're a human that associates with monsters."  
  
Michael took the momentary lull in conversation to look around at where he was. It looked almost like a small apartment, a kitchenette a bit to the side of what he assumed was the front door, the couch, which he was on, was facing a TV with an impressive stack of games and consoles resting next to it. There was also a bed and two more doors, one of which was cracked enough that he could see a bathroom. The third door opened and Geoff stumbled out, looking extremely tired. There was a bandage over his left cheek and multiple bruises on every visible surface.  
  
He pointed a shaking finger at Ryan. "I think you need to take Michael out of town for a while."  
  
Michael blinked, looking at Geoff in concern. "Why? What happened? Did somebody-?"  
  
Geoff held up his hand. "Before you ask, no. No one died. But... Gavin..." Michael felt panic start to rise in his chest. He wasn't sure why, considering Gavin had apparently hurt almost everyone he knew pretty severely and hurt those three kids but... he still found himself worrying. "Look, we just can't communicate with him. We're working on it, but... we had to completely restore the spell on the bottle to get Gavin to stop. That means he can't talk to us. He can still, allegedly, hear us, he just can't talk back. And he can't get out of the bottle anymore either."  
  
Michael felt hollow in his chest, panic gone and replaced with defeat. Could he have helped? Maybe. He had been the one given responsibility over the bottle. He should have paid attention. He shouldn't have let Gavin out of his sight. Maybe if he'd tried harder none of this would have happened. "I... I'm sorry," was all he could choke out.  
  
Geoff ran a hand over his face. "I know you're probably blaming yourself for what happened but... just don't, alright? It could have happened to any one of us. What's happened, happened, and we're not going to make progress just sitting around and being bummed about it."  
  
Michael nodded, though his fingers dug into his hand. "What, uh, happened to those kids?"  
  
"Oh. Jack took care of them. Took them home and made sure they wouldn't remember anything of what Gavin put them through." That, at least, was a comfort. "But anyways, Ryan, there's a town a few miles from here that has a bit of a ghost problem that's been going on for a while. I'll give you all the information I have, just take Michael with you. I don't think he should be in town for a while until we have all this shit sorted out."  
  
Ryan reluctantly nodded. "Well," he muttered, turning to Michael and grinning weakly. "Road trip, then?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “People aren't either wicked or noble. They're like chef's salads, with good things and bad things chopped and mixed together in a vinaigrette of confusion and conflict.” -Lemony Snicket


	11. Just Visiting

The sun had already set by the time Michael finally got home. The others had been reluctant to let him go without more rest, but Michael had insisted he leave. He didn't want to be in the store right now, not while they were talking - very loudly, he might add - about Gavin and what they were going to do with him. It had felt stifling in there, voices pressing against his ears and people incessantly worrying about him. He didn’t like it, not at all. So, he had left to go pack for the road trip he would be taking with Ryan the next day.  
  
Yeah... that was a weird thought.  
  
Sure, the man was a hunter, a killer of his kind, untrustworthy as far as Michael had been concerned, generally bad news, but he had found himself warming up to the man, the few times they'd had the chance to talk. It was strange, but slowly he was becoming accustomed to strange things. Besides, he got the feeling that Ryan just genuinely didn't mean any harm, at least not to Michael. He hadn't spent enough time around Ryan to know for sure but he was desperate enough to get away from the town that he would take what he could get.  
  
He stepped inside his house, flipping a light on so he wouldn't trip, emotions twisting in his gut. He still wasn't sure how to feel about what happened to Gavin. He felt betrayed, first and foremost, but there was some guilt and even anger as well. They were friends, right? And yet he could still feel the pins and needles in his arms from the remainder of the curse Gavin had put on him. He shivered even if it wasn’t that cold in the house.  
  
"Why're you out so late?" his uncle asked gruffly, breaking Michael out of his thoughts. He was almost thankful for it as he was able to focus on other things besides the sick feeling in his stomach. He just wished it was someone besides his uncle.  
  
He found he could only scowl. "I was busy. I have a job." A job that was not the reason he was out so late, but his uncle didn't need to know that. It wasn’t like he would care anyways.  
  
His uncle snorted and crossed his arms, looking generally unimpressed. "Really? Since when? And where?"  
  
Michael started walking past him, though the kitchen and into the hallway that led to his bedroom. "The General Store. Geoff Ramsey gave me a job."  
  
His uncle, unfortunately, followed him into his room and leaned against the doorframe. He looked exhausted and his eyebrows were permanently pulled together and his lips twisted into a frown. "Ramsey? Never heard of him. Last I knew it was Debora who owned that store."  
  
Michael had no idea what he was talking about and just shrugged, stuffing clothes and essentials into a backpack. For now the guilt was gone and all Michael could feel was simmering anger. It made the pins and needles push harder.  
  
"What are you packing for? Going to see a girl?"  
  
With that comment Michael zipped up the backpack, now full of clothes and random items he thought he would need, and marched out the door of his room. It was official, he could not stay in this house, either. Without his uncle yelling at him it would undoubtedly feel crushingly lonely, now that Gavin was... whatever. He would find somewhere else to stay for the night, though he wasn't sure where.  
  
He felt a presence follow him to the front door of the house and his uncle asked, "Where are you going, Michael?"  
  
He sent a glare over his shoulder before saying, "Out," and slamming the door shut.  
  
He was struck with a cold gust of wind and the sudden realization that it was definitely too late to be out right now. The streetlights were just flickering on and the moon was shining behind clouds and pollution. He grit his teeth and began walking. He wasn't going back to that house. He wasn't quite sure where he would go, he just knew he had to get away.  
  
He was walking for a while, letting his anger work its way out of his system, when headlights swept over him and a car slowed to a stop next to him. A police car. Oh, right, he was out past curfew. Great.  
  
The window rolled down and a familiar voice said, "Hey, kid, you're not supposed to be out right now. I'm not gonna have to take you to the station, am I?"  
  
Michael smiled weakly, tilting his head so he was talking to the man in the car. At least it was him and not some other police officer that probably would take him to the station. His face was known amongst the local law enforcement. "Hey, Burnie. Yeah, I know it's late. I just... a lot's happened."  
  
"Yeah, I heard. Geoff's been keeping me more or less updated on what's going on. No details, the prick, but I am the sheriff and I need to know what goes on in this town." Michael raised an eyebrow, slightly confused, before something Geoff had said to him before surfaced in his mind. He had said Burnie was a witch, that he knew about the more supernatural side of the town. He supposed it made sense he would know what went on, be it natural or not.  
  
Michael sighed. "So you know about Gavin?"  
  
"The Djinni?" Burnie questioned. "Yeah I know about him. Never met him, Geoff didn't say much besides he's a prick, but other than that I haven't heard much."  
  
"Oh," was all Michael could say. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. "You know what? Geoff can explain what happened." He was not going to go through the process of telling Burnie everything that had happened today. It just wasn't worth it and Michael was not emotionally stable enough to talk about it just yet. He wasn’t really sure when he would be.  
  
"Alright then," Burnie said, sounding a bit confused. "It's still past curfew, though. Need me to take you anywhere?"  
  
Michael paused and thought about it. He didn't want to bother Lindsay this late, Geoff's shop was out as was his own home. He supposed he could call Ray but he hadn't been part of all that happened and would probably want a story. He finally said, without really thinking, "Do you know where Ryan Haywood lives?"  
  
"The Hunter?" Michael nodded. "Yeah, I do. You sure you want to go there?"  
  
"I'm sure," Michael said with a finality that he hoped sounded genuine. Burnie shrugged and motioned for Michael to get into the shotgun seat and within a few short minutes of silence they pulled into a low end suburban driveway. The house had probably seen better days but it was honestly not that bad. Sure, the paint was peeling and faded but the grass was well kept and the vines that wound up the side of the house looked like they had been planted, as did the random assortment of colorful flowers and bushes.  
  
Michael slowly got out of the car, only slightly regretting choosing to come here, and smiled at Burnie through the window. "Thanks a lot."  
  
"Call me if you need me, Michael," was all he said before he rolled up his window and pulled out of the driveway. Michael turned back to the house and took a deep breath. Hopefully Ryan wouldn't immediately kick him out.  
  
He slowly walked up the walkway to Ryan's front door, shifting his feet as he looked at the welcome mat, proudly proclaiming what it was made for, a bright caricature of a smiling sunflower next to the words "Welcome!". Not what Michael expected, but whatever. He reached out his hand and knocked on the door.  
  
There were curtains covering the slim vertical windows lining either side of the door so Michael could only hear the shuffling and muttering and flipping on of lights. When the door swung open he was met with a disheveled looking Ryan wearing a solid colored wrinkled shirt and sweatpants. His arm was still in a sling, his fingers opening and closing irritably. Thankfully, Ryan only looked surprised. Maybe he wouldn’t have to sleep on the streets tonight.  
  
"What're you doing here?" Ryan hissed, glancing back into the house. He didn't sound angry, per say, but Michael still flinched internally.  
  
"I didn't have anywhere else to stay. Figured your house was as good an option as any." Ryan didn't look impressed. Again, he glanced back into the house, shaking his head slightly and pointing towards a staircase that Michael could only just see. Ryan turned back to him, stepping fully outside and closing the door behind him.  
  
"How'd you even find my house? Geoff's never told me he told you, and he's pretty much the only one who knows where I live."  
  
Michael shrugged. "Burnie drove me here."  
  
"Of course he did," Ryan muttered, rubbing a hand over his face. "Alright, well, I guess I have no choice. Can’t just leave you outside all night," he muttered, before opening the door again and motioning for Michael to follow. He stopped about a step into the main entrance and looked sharply to his right, where a doorway led into what looked like a living room. "Kerry, I told you to go to your room. I'll be up later."  
  
A small head poked around the corner and Michael felt his eyes widen. It was a kid, probably no more than eight, with long, light hair and big eyes. And horns. Small horns just barely visible, pale like his hair. Michael really had no idea what to think. Why was there a kid in Ryan’s house? He didn’t have kids, did he? And if not what in the world was he doing taking care of a monster?

Kerry’s fingers tightened their grip on the doorframe as he said quietly, "Y-yeah, but my light's still broken. I d-don't like my room when it's that dark."  
  
Ryan sighed heavily, though there was a small smile at the corner of his lips. "Fine, stay down here for a while. I'll go and fix your light as soon as I can. I just need to talk to Michael for a while."  
  
Kerry's eyes widened as if he had just now noticed Michael was there. His shoulders stiffened and he pulled back into the living room, squeaking, "Ok!" as he settled into a recliner that was next to a larger couch.  
  
Michael kept looking between Kerry and Ryan, still reeling and confused. "Uh... what?"  
  
Ryan shot him a dangerous look. "His name is Kerry. I take care of him. If you try to hurt him, I will end you."  
  
The words were said with such venom and finality that Michael had to take a physical step back and hold his arms up defensively. "No problem, dude. I wouldn't dream of it." He glanced back at where Kerry was, covered in blankets and reading a book, and noticed how his ears didn't exactly look like human ears, how they resembled a cow's ears more. And how a tail also resembling that of a cow's was hanging over the edge of the recliner. "What... uh, what is he?"  
  
Ryan seemed to consider the pros and cons of answering that, finally settling on saying, "Minotaur," and leaving it at that. He led Michael into the living room, pointed to the couch and said, "You can sleep there. We'll talk about this in the morning. I'm too tired for this right now."  
  
Honestly, Michael was as well. He hadn't realized it, but his limbs felt like lead and his eyes were having a hard time staying focused. He dropped his backpack near the base of the couch and collapsed into it. He felt a pillow slap in his face and a blanket follow over his shoulders shortly after. He mumbled a quick thanks before settling himself in a more comfortable position for sleep. At this point he was too worn out to even change his clothes, which he knew would only make him feel gross in the morning but fuck it.  
  
He closed his eyes and listened to the not-really-quiet conversation between Kerry and Ryan as they moved out of the living room and the lights were switched off.  
  
"Who's he, Ryan?" Kerry asked quietly. There was some clattering and moving in a room Michael assumed was a kitchen.  
  
"He works with Geoff now. I don't think you need to worry about him."  
  
There was a pause between them. "He's not human," Kerry finally said.  
  
"No, he's not," Ryan affirmed. Unfortunately for Michael, the rest of the conversation was lost as they started walking up a flight of stairs. He was left in the dark and listening to the unfamiliar sounds of the house until he finally managed to fall asleep.


	12. Fresh Air

The next day he woke up to soft talking. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, trying to remember where he was. He sat up and slowly started walking towards the voices, the events from last night and the day before slowly filtering back. He groaned and ran a hand through his hair, briefly wishing he'd just let himself forget for a few more minutes.

He wandered into a kitchen, his feet stopping as he took in everything around him. Ryan was cooking what looked like pancakes, the kid from the day before - Kerry, if he remembered correctly - sitting at the table talking. It was terribly domestic, nothing like he would have expected from a hunter of all things. Kerry noticed him first and grinned, his tail flicking back and forth under the table. "Hello!" he said cheerfully and Ryan turned back to look at Michael.

"Good morning. You should shower." Michael blinked at the straightforwardness of it. He picked at his now wrinkled shirt and stuck his tongue out at how disgusting he felt. Yeah, he definitely needed a shower before anything else. Ryan turned back towards preparing breakfast, throwing over his shoulder, "Upstairs, it's the first door on the right."

Michael muttered a quick thanks before ducking back into the living room to gather his backpack full of clothes. He took a moment to look around at the worn furniture, though some of them looked newer then others. There were potted plants lining the windowsill, small flowers and succulents that looked to be in perfect condition despite the time of year. Pictures lined the walls and a coffee table sat in front of an old TV. Michael hurried to the bathroom, though he did catch a glimpse of a few pictures. One was of Ryan, a small smile on his face as he leaned against a car. There was someone next to him, a stranger that held himself like a hunter. He was short, barely surpassing Ryan’s shoulders. His hair was a mop of black that fell into his face and he wore a plaid shirt. There were quite a few pictures of the two together.

His eyes skipped over that picture, not willing to think about the fact that Ryan had once been a hunter. It made his stomach drop and his palms sweaty. He wasn't sure he still completely trusted Ryan but... well, he wasn't dead yet.

Michael hugged his backpack to his chest and hurried to where Ryan had directed him, finding himself in a relatively small bathroom. He dropped the backpack on the closed toilet and dug through it, looking for something to change into. He jerked back when a sharp pain raced up his arm, pins and needles dancing over his entire body.

He squeezed his eyes shut and breathed out slowly, trying to calm himself down. He had no idea what was making his heart beat so quickly. Nothing had happened, as far as he knew. Maybe he was just stressed. Yeah, stressed. And yet... he felt like someone was watching him.

He had to shove his fist in his mouth to keep from screaming as the familiar face of Jack appeared in the mirror. Michael spun around and glared, hissing, “What the fuck, dude?”

Jack looked a bit sheepish, rubbing the back of his head and glancing anywhere but where Michael was standing. “Er… sorry. Just wanted to check on you.”

Michael’s hands curled into fists and the pins and needles bordered on fire as his hands tried to transform, only to be blocked by the remnants of the curse and the fact that Michael just didn’t want it to happen right now. He said, through his teeth, “Don’t worry. I’m fine.” He turned away, continuing his search for a change of clothes. Jack didn’t leave.

“I… if you need to talk, don’t hesitate, Michael. I know what happened can’t have been easy for you, even if you weren’t there for most of it.” There was silence for a while. “I’m… I’m kind of glad you weren’t awake, honestly,” Jack said quietly, and that was the last straw.

“Get out,” Michael ground out. He didn’t turn around but he could practically feel Jack stiffen and give him a concerned look. Michael twisted the clothes in his hands, trying to force out the sick feeling in his stomach. “Just… just leave. I don’t want to think about it right now.” Maybe eventually. Not now.

Jack didn’t say anything more, just disappeared with the same worried look still on his face. It took Michael longer then he would have liked to move again. He rubbed his eyes fiercely and forced himself to think about other things. Stiffly he started the shower and stepped under the hot water. It was going to be a long day.

-.-

By the time Ryan and Michael finally started driving away from that godforsaken town the sun was high in the sky. The drive was long and painful, as Michael really didn’t want to talk about anything whereas Ryan, like Jack, seemed to think he needed to talk about what happened. After the third time the former hunter tried to strike up the conversation Michael just put on the headphones he’d stuffed away in his backpack and closed his eyes.

He wasn’t sure exactly how much time passed before the car slowed to a stop. He looked up from the game he was playing on his phone, taking in the shabby looking motel they were now parked in front of. “Uh…” Michael mumbled, his head turning when he heard the distinct sound of a seatbelt unbuckling.

Ryan sent him a look, saying, “Stay here. We have to stay somewhere, figured this place looked better than all the other motels we passed along the way.”

Michael nodded and Ryan ducked out of the car, walking quickly towards where he assumed the office was. Michael got out of the car as soon as Ryan was out of sight and stretched, glad to be out of the car after so long. He leaned against the car, waiting for Ryan, and watching as cars periodically pulled into the parking lots and people walk into their respective rooms. When Ryan finally got back he handed Michael the room key and told him to head to their room and get ready to go out and investigate the town tonight.

“Wait… we’re doing it tonight?” Michael asked. It wasn’t that he wasn’t willing to do it – he’d rather do something then sit in a dingy motel room all night – but he was still surprised.

“Yep,” was all Ryan said as he turned and got back in the car.

-.-  
In the same town, not too far away from where Michael and Ryan were staying, Matt Bragg closed his front door, quickly locking it and shoving his keys in his pocket. He padded down the stairs of his apartment complex, careful not to wake his more nosey neighbors. His messenger bag was set firmly against his shoulder but he still shifted and pulled it, constantly scared he would lose it. A cold gust of air greeted him as he walked across the parking lot to a car sitting near the road.  
  
He slipped inside, a grin slowly forming on his face. His legs bounced and his fingers drummed. "Ready to go?"  
  
"I mean, are you?" Jeremy asked, though he was already starting the car. "You know it could all be a rumor. I don't want you to get your hopes up too high."  
  
Matt's fingers stilled and the grin faltered slightly. "I know," he said quietly. "But I can hope. And if it is just a rumor well... I guess we can at least enjoy it? I mean how often do you hang out at a haunted house at night?"  
  
Jeremy rolled his eyes as they pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road. "Figures you'd enjoy spending time in a creepy abandoned house."  
  
Matt grinned and shrugged, settling down in the seat and tapping away at his phone. "I mean... you did agree to this."  
  
Jeremy sighed. "I did. Honestly didn't think you'd go through with it, but I guess this is what I get for opening my big mouth."  
  
Matt chuckled under his breath. The car moved underneath him and a soft song played through the speakers. For some reason, though, Matt found he couldn't relax. He kept running through their supplies in his head, their plan, or lack thereof, and every conceivable outcome. The way he saw it the night could either be spent alone in a creepy abandoned house or they'd actually find a ghost. Granted, he had no idea what he'd do if the latter was what happened, but that didn't change the fact that he hoped for an at least slightly exciting night.  
  
He was jarred out of his thoughts by the car slowing to a stop and Jeremy saying, a bit too loudly, "What the fuck?"  
  
Matt looked up and out the window of the car, seeing the same abandoned house he'd seen on his many Google searches. It looked infinitely different at night, the cracked windows and splintered wood giving the whole structure and eerie feeling in the moonlight. That wasn't what had caught Jeremy's attention, though. No, it was something else entirely.  
  
"Is that... a car?" Matt asked incredulously. Not only was it a car, but he could also, very distinctly, see two figures walking into the house. Well, one thing was for certain. This certainly wasn't going to be a boring night.  
  
"Yeah... do you still think we should do this?" Jeremy asked nervously, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. "I mean, we didn't know anyone else was going to be here. What if they're, like, serial killers or something? What if they're selling drugs or- or what if they'll kill us as soon as they see us? Or-"  
  
"Jeremy," Matt said firmly, interrupting the flow of increasingly panicked words from his friend's mouth. "I don't think they're serial killers. I think they're probably like us. Y'know, doing some good old fashioned ghost hunting?"  
  
Jeremy looked a bit uncertain but he still nodded. "A-alright. I guess we're still going through with it, then?"  
  
"Yep," Matt said. They had been planning this for so long. No way there were ditching this early. "Got your camera?"  
  
Jeremy nodded and held it up. He turned it on and turned it to face Matt, sending him a thumbs up to signal that it was working. Matt nodded back and grabbed his backpack full of supplies, slipping out of the car as silently as possible. While they weren't ditching there was still the imminent possibility of running into those two people they'd seen. Whether or not that would prove to be a good thing Matt wasn't quite sure.  
  
"Alright, we're about to enter the abandoned house," Jeremy narrated behind him as he led the way. He walked up the porch steps, wincing as they creaked under his weight. "There are two unidentified persons that entered beforehand. We do not know if they are friendly yet. Hopefully they are. It'd kinda suck to die here tonight."  
  
Matt snorted a bit as he slowly pushed the front door open. It creaked on its hinges and the already peeling paint flaked off on his hands. He stepped into the main entrance, taking in the dust and broken wood and shattered glass lining the floor. It was mostly pushed to either side, piling up substantially in some places. Jeremy opened his mouth to continue his narration, but stopped when Matt held up a hand.  
  
He slowly crept forward, listening intently. He thought he heard...  
  
"-to God, I will ditch you if you keep talking about this," a voice floated through the thin walls to them. Matt sent a look to the camera and Jeremy returned it. They both silently agreed to investigate the voice, presumably one of the two strangers they'd seen entering the house.  
  
"Alright, alright, sorry. Geez," another voice muttered, slightly deeper than the first one. The second voice was obviously owned by an older man, the first possibly a younger one.  
  
"So..." the first voice trailed off, and at this point Matt and Jeremy had found the source. There were two of them, one with curly brown hair and a scowl on his face standing with his arms crossed and another one holding something in his hands and slowly circling the room with it, holding it up towards the corners of the room and listening intently. "How do we do this? The whole ghost thing?"  
  
Matt sent a look towards Jeremy, who was still holding the camera up, recording everything that was going on.  
  
"Well, usually we have to find it first," the older man said. He frowned before putting away whatever it was he had been holding, shaking his head.  
  
"Yeah, no shit Ryan," the younger one huffed. "I meant, like, once we do find it?"  
  
Ryan walked over to a corner where he leaned down and picked up what looked like a shotgun. Matt's eyes widened in alarm and he pulled back slightly, still maintaining his view of the room. "I don't know... I'm not getting any EMF readings and the temperatures are all normal... maybe Geoff made a mistake."  
  
The younger man's eyebrows shot up. "Really? You're saying we might have come all the way here for fucking nothing?"  
  
"Well I didn't say that," Ryan muttered.  
  
"Yeah, but you were implying it."  
  
"Alright, well maybe a little bit." Ryan seemed to stiffen, though, and his mouth closed. His eyes narrowed and the grip on his shotgun tightened before he pointed it in the general direction of Matt and Jeremy. He had no idea if Ryan had seen them, but honestly he didn't want to take any chances. That guy had a legit gun. This was not the time to be overly adventurous.  
  
Matt started to turn, opening his mouth to tell Jeremy it was time to get the fuck out of dodge, but he felt something hard impact the back of his head and before he knew it the world was black.


	13. Don't Get Too Close It's Dark Inside

When he woke up he was tied to a chair.  
  
His first thought, surprisingly, wasn't holy shit I'm tied to a chair, it was holy shit my head hurts like hell. He blinked sluggishly and attempted to touch the back of his skull only to be reminded that his hands were trapped uncomfortably behind him by something that might be rope. He drew his eyebrows together, slowly piecing together what had happened. He had been turning to talk to Jeremy when... something had hit him. Had it been Jeremy? He had the unsettling feeling that it might have been.

His eyes wandered around the room, taking in the splintering wooden walls and the dust coating every surface. There was a window behind him with dirty glass that filtered small specs of moonlight into the room. Above his head a bare bulb flickered, threatening to give out and plunge the entire room into darkness. He shivered as a cold gust of air swept through the room. He didn’t like this, not one bit. He didn’t like feeling so helpless and confused. This wasn’t supposed to happen! Nothing was supposed to be here!

As much as Matt loved the supernatural there was always a part of him that never really believed it was real. Sure, he’d hoped, but magic didn’t work in real life and ghosts were just people playing pranks, trying to scare other people. That’s what everyone said to him and what he always denied out loud. But there was always a little doubt in the back of his mind that what he was looking for couldn’t be found because it simply didn’t exist. Right now Matt didn’t feel any doubt.  

A groan next to him startled Matt out of his thoughts. His head whipped around and he saw the same man as before, the younger one with the curly hair and a scowl. "What the fuck," the man grumbled, pulling at his bound wrists before blinking and realizing what was going on. "What the fuck?" he said again, this time more urgently. His head whipped around, presumably looking for the other one, before his eyes landed on Matt. "Uh... who the fuck are you?"

"I'm, uh, I'm Matt." He didn't see the point in skipping formalities. Even if they were about to die in some horrible clichéd way at least they'd die knowing each other's names.  
  
"Michael. What the fuck are you doing here? Ryan said there wasn't anyone else." Michael seemed a bit scared at the prospect of more people then he anticipated being there. Actually... maybe not scared. More like concerned.   
  
"Uh... yeah, I don't know who Ryan is but me and my friend Jeremy were here to... well, do some ghost hunting." He tried to say it as nonchalantly as possible and he hoped desperately that it didn't sound horrendously fake.   
  
Michael's eyes narrowed and he seemed to lean away from Matt, suddenly guarded and untrusting. "You're a hunter?" The question was edged in malice and Matt was floored for a second.  
  
"Uh... no? What does hunting have to do with anything?" Well... the other guy did have a gun. Were they hunting wildlife? No, that didn't make sense. It was the middle of the night. Not to mention in a house. Matt wanted to slap himself in the face, but unfortunately his hands were still behind his back.  
  
Michael relaxed marginally. "So you're just a pair of losers who investigate creepy houses in their spare time?"  
  
"Hey!" Matt said indignantly, but didn't get to say any more as a door opened and a figure stepped inside, closing it softly behind him.  
  
"Ryan!" Michael hissed, yanking at the restrains on his wrists. "Get us the fuck out of here."  
  
The man stepped up and Matt recognized him from before. His hands were still curled around his gun and his eyes darted every which way. He seemed strangely comfortable in this situation, though. Like he was used to this kind of thing happening. "Nah," he finally said, leaning his gun against his leg as he dug into his pockets for something.  
  
"You fucking hunter asshole," Michael growled. He looked like he was ready to lunge at Ryan, his teeth grinding together and his arms shaking. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that he was still tied to a chair. If Matt didn’t know any better he would say there was something… inhuman about Michael.   
  
"Look, Michael, I need you to calm down," Ryan said, producing something from in his pocket. It looked like... chalk. "Geoff was a little off about what's here. It's not a ghost. It's something you don't take chances with, no matter what."  
  
Michael still looked mad, but his anger had subsided somewhat, giving room for curiosity. "What is it, then?"  
  
"A demon," Ryan hummed as he went to work, drawing some kind of complicated design on the floor. It looked like a circle with a star in the middle, weird squiggles that Matt supposed were supposed to be letters ringing the outside of the star.  
  
What Ryan has said finally registered and Matt jerked back. "A demon?!" he squeaked. Those weren't real, were they? Oh, God, he hoped not. They were fucked if it was real. And if it was what had tied them up. Why did the supernatural have to turn out to be real at this very moment? Why not when he was safe in his room, looking up lore and legends on his computer?   
  
Ryan's eyes flickered up and he seemed to take in Matt for the first time. "Oh. Well, that complicates things." He finished up the circle and stood up, dusting off his hands. "Sorry about your friend. I'll get him back."  
  
Matt stilled and felt his blood run cold. He'd noticed it before but now... now he had even more reason to worry. There was, apparently, a demon that had tied them up and Jeremy was somewhere with it. Matt didn't want to think about what could be happening to him but... he found his thoughts wandering. He swallowed thickly before gathering enough courage to ask, "What happened to Jeremy?"  
  
"Well, the demon had to possess one of us." Matt's heart started to race and his head swam. It was all a little too much to process. He'd just come here to look for ghosts. He hadn't truly imagined anything bad would happen. Ryan, meanwhile, was shifting dead leaves and dirt onto the carefully drawn circle. He nodded in satisfaction and picked up his gun again. "Alright, that should do it. Have fun, you two."  
  
With that he turned and left, leaving a shocked Michael and a still reeling Matt behind. "Oh my fucking God," Michael said in a dull tone. "He fucking left us, what an asshole." He glanced at Matt, taking in the shaking and the panicked look in his eyes. "Hey, are you ok?"  
  
Matt could only shake his head. He swallowed thickly and glanced over at Michael. “I… I didn’t think it was real.”

The other man lifted an eyebrow. “Yeah? You were the one looking for ghosts, though. If you didn’t think they were real then why would you even come here?”

Matt looked at his feet, slowly dragging them back and forth across the dirty ground. “I dunno. I guess I just wanted some adventure.” He sighed. “I guess I was kinda tired with my life. The only thing that ever really held my attention was the supernatural. And, well, Jeremy of course.”

Michael threw his head back and laughed, loudly and without humor. Matt flinched away, shivering at the same inhuman aura around Michael growing. “Trust me,” he said, staring at Matt. His voice was strange and scratchy and his eyes didn’t quite look human anymore. “If you want to continue living like you are you shouldn’t get involved in this. If you have nothing left… well, then, by all means, do it. Play with ghosts and demons and pretend you’ll never get hurt. Pretend you won’t change, for better or for worse.”

The air seemed to settle as Michael sighed and dropped his gaze, now just staring at the floor. His shoulders seemed weighed down by something and his eyes tired. “If you have nothing else, then do it. But I think you still have something. And what happens here will determine whether or not you’ll still have him.”

Suddenly, the door Ryan had left out of slammed open. A figure walked in, though this time Matt knew who it was, though the way he walked slowly towards them, the way he held himself, was infinitely different from what Matt was used to. The dim light that filtered into the room from the dirty windows reflected off of Jeremy's eyes. They were almost completely black, reflecting the light in a way no eyes ever should. He grinned at the panicked look on Matt's face but quickly turned to Michael when he tugged at the ropes tying him to the chair again.  
  
"I wouldn't try that," Jeremy said lowly, dangerously, and Matt bit his tongue to keep from making any noises. He had no experience with possessions, he had no experience with any of this. He spent more time researching ghosts and watching cheesy horror movies than anything else. This was something completely different, something he didn't know how to handle. He didn't know how to help his friend, so all he could do was sit back and watch what happened limply. He didn’t like this one bit and with Michael’s words still stuck in his head the gravity of the situation hit him.

Someone could die here.

He shivered at the thought, not wanting to dwell on it. He instead forced himself to focus on what was happening around him.

"Tell me where your hunter friend escaped to," the demon demanded, reaching its hand out and Michael's chair lurched back as if it was alive, skidding back across the floor and slamming against the back wall. The moonlight filtering through the window danced around Michael’s head, framing his face in a strange sort of halo. "Or you can find out first-hand what an angry demon is like."  
  
Michael bared his teeth at the demon, growling low in his chest. "I don't fucking know where he is." He wasn't going to deal with this bullshit. He'd come here for a simple ghost, not whatever this was. He’d come here to forget about Gavin. He’d come here to get away from all the dangerous supernatural beings that seemed to always turn up in his hometown. A ghost couldn’t do much more then throw plates around and make spooky noises. A ghost couldn’t hurt you by itself and, according to Ryan, most didn’t have the power to possess living things.

A demon was something completely different. A demon’s _purpose_ was to hurt people, to manipulate and threaten and injure. Michael clenched his jaw and felt a rush of pins and needles as his resolve hardened. He wasn’t letting this demon hurt anyone.

The demon looked at him in confusion as the pins and needles intensified, changing anything it could but not completely able to shift him into his other form. He still felt the remnants of Gavin’s curse, though it was rapidly fading. The demon took a nervous step back, still obviously confused. So it didn't know what Michael was. He grinned, feeling the ropes finally start to give way. He flexed his hands, continuing to saw at the ropes with his claws, and with a short burst of strength he broke them.  
  
The demon seemed to shake itself out of whatever stupor Michael’s partial transformation put him in and he stepped forward again, his face inches from Michael's. He supposed the demon was trying to be intimidating, trying to seem like it was the one in charge. There was, of course, the rational part of Michael's brain that was yelling at him to get away from whatever this was, to save himself before anything bad happened. But he was sort of done with not being part of things, he was done with not being able to help in any way. Besides, this demon had nothing on Gavin.  
  
Michael's face twisted into a grin and he leaned back, launching a fist towards the stupid demon's face as hard as he could. He heard a crack and it stumbled back, holding a now bleeding nose. Its eyes found Michael and it let out a terrible noise, something that might have been a scream if it hadn't echoed through his mind and rattled every bit of his body. "You'll pay for that!" it shrieked, lunging forward.

Michael barely registered what was happening as his body moved on its own, catching the demon by the shoulders and flinging it towards the circle Ryan had drawn. The demon stumbled to its feet as Michael stalked towards it, his vision fogged by red. The demon tried to lunge forward again, but it was stopped by something that Michael could only describe as an invisible wall, keeping it inside the circle that Ryan had drawn earlier.

Michael was about to attack, to end this once and for all. He wanted this demon dead and torn apart, its blood painting the walls and its screams echoing through the halls and-

He was shocked out of his own line of thought – where had that come from? It almost hadn’t sounded human - by a gunshot. Michael blinked rapidly, seeing Ryan standing there, his gun still pointed at the ceiling and plaster raining down on him, coating his hair and shoulders. “That is _enough,_ Michael.”

Michael could only nod silently, knowing that he’d gone a bit overboard there. He took a deep breath and centered himself, pushing back the pins and needles and settling back into himself. He wouldn’t become the next Gavin.

He turned his attention to Matt, who was still tied to a chair, and set to work untying him. Once that was done he stood up and turned to face Ryan, noting the strange book he was flipping through, but he stopped when he felt a hand on his arm. He looked back to see Matt, small and scared. "Hey, dude, hey," Michael said quietly, leaning back down so he could meet the other’s eyes. "I need you to get it together. We'll get your friend back. Just... just take a deep breath."

Matt nodded, still obviously overwhelmed with everything that was going on. Michael's attention was quickly diverted from Matt, though, by the sound of talking.  
  
"Long time no see, Haywood," the demon growled, blood still dripping from its nose and a glare fixed permanently on its face. "What've you been up to? Killed any monsters recently? Orphaned any more kids?"  
  
Ryan's hand leapt to the gun he had leaned against his leg. "Shut the fuck up," he said lowly, not looking up from the book he was skimming, evidently looking for something. "Or I'll end this sooner rather than later."  
  
"Oh, but you wouldn't do that," the demon said casually. "You're retired, remember? You're not supposed to kill anyone anymore." A wicked grin spread across its face. "You couldn't stand to, not after that kid."  
  
Ryan didn't bother to reply. Instead he started chanting something under his breath, something that was obviously hurting the demon in some way, because it lurched back and put its hands over its ears. "Stop it!" it shrieked, the sound echoing through the room. Matt flinched back violently and Michael held onto his shoulders to keep him from pitching back in the chair.  
  
Ryan's chanting abruptly stopped and the body the demon had been possessing fell forward as Ryan rushed forward to catch it. He set the body gently on the ground and stepped back. "You ok?" he asked quietly, looking straight at Michael.  
  
"Y-yeah," Michael choked out, what happened finally catching up to him. And what that demon said about Ryan... how the hell was he supposed to react to that?  
  
"I-is h-he ok?" a shaking voice asked and Matt pointed to the man starting to stir on the ground.  
  
"Why don't you check for yourself?" Ryan said, backing away from the man and slowly walking around the circle towards Michael.  
  
Matt quickly rushed forward, helping Jeremy sit up. There was blood on his face though his nose had stopped bleeding. He looked exhausted, both physically and mentally, and he had to lean heavily against Matt to even stand up. "Are you ok, dude?" Matt asked quietly, making sure Jeremy wouldn't suddenly collapse back onto the ground.  
  
"Ugh... my head hurts. And my face. Actually, you know what? My everything hurts." They both laughed, though it was just a bit broken and forced. "I don't know what the hell happened, Matt. One second I was with you, then I... it was weird."  
  
"Do you... remember anything that happened?" Matt asked cautiously. Honestly he wasn’t sure he wanted an answer.  
  
Jeremy made a noncommittal noise and shrugged his shoulders. "A little. Can't make much sense out of it except for the demon bit." His legs momentarily gave out and Matt grunted as he tried to keep him propped up.  
  
Ryan stepped up, asking, "Need any help?"  
  
Matt nodded sheepishly and couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed as Ryan picked up Jeremy almost effortlessly and started walking out of the house. "Uh... where's he going?" Matt turned and asked Michael, who seemed to be deep in thought, staring at the ground. "Michael?"  
  
Michael jumped and stuttered out, "O-oh, right, uh, what?"  
  
"Where's Ryan going?" he repeated, slightly irritated. Maybe it was the stress.  
  
"Oh. He's probably going to take your friend to our motel room. Get him patched up and make sure there's nothing super wrong with him. Make sure there's no lingering side effects," Michael muttered, rubbing his arm subconsciously. "We, uh, should probably follow them."  
  
"Yeah, probably," Matt responded, rubbing a hand over his face. Before they got going, though, he had to know something. “You’re, uh, not human, are you?”

Michael flinched and rubbed his arms, refusing to meet Matt’s eyes. “Er… no, I’m not.”

Matt sighed. “Alright.”

“Alright?”

“I’m too emotionally drained to muster up an appropriate response,” Matt shrugged and slowly started walking out of the house and towards his car. He hoped this would all be over soon, though something inside of him insisted this was only the beginning.


	14. Any Place is Better

The sun was just starting to come up when Matt collapsed on the questionably clean mattress of the motel room. Ryan and Jeremy were in the bathroom, Ryan making sure Jeremy's nose wouldn't heal wrong and Jeremy struggling to stay awake. He had fallen asleep for a while on the car ride here but he was still exhausted. Michael was sitting at a table near the shaded window of the room, tapping his fingers rapidly in the faux wood surface and bouncing his legs. He was incredibly fidgety. 

"What's up with you?" Matt asked, and almost immediately regretted it. It wasn't something he needed to know. It might be something personal that he didn't want to share, maybe it was a monster thing, or maybe he had been shaken up by what happened during the night. Matt knew he was, but he was quickly accepting it and moving on. He supposed he should probably be a little more terrified or confused but he just... wasn't. If anything he was intrigued, which was weird but not totally surprising. 

At least now there wasn’t any doubt in his mind that the supernatural was real. What he would do with that information was a question he would answer when he wasn’t completely exhausted.

Michael's eyes found Matt’s and he sighed. "That's a loaded question, dude." 

Matt shrugged. He'd always been a good listener. "Lay it on me."

"Wait... are you serious?" Michael asked, seemingly taken aback. Matt just shrugged again and nodded. "Uh... ok. Well... shits been bad lately," he began slowly. "I... I have a friend back home. At least I think he's my friend. Thought. Whatever. I hope he's still my friend. He was a prick but I enjoyed his company. But he... he made a mistake. A big one. And it hurt a lot of people. And I just... don't know how to feel about it."

Matt let himself fall back on the mattress. "I dunno man, ultimately it'll be up to you to choose whether or not to forgive him." 

Michael made a humming sound and Matt closed his eyes, wanting to fall asleep but not willing to before he was sure Jeremy was alright. He wasn't sure he completely trusted Michael and Ryan far enough to stay here, even if he was terribly exhausted. There were just too many mysteries surrounding the two, not to mention at least one of them being a monster. Michael had seemed downright terrifying back at that house, and even if Matt couldn’t exactly recall why that was it was still there, in the back of his mind, telling him to stay away before he got hurt. For one reason or another Matt found it fairly easy to ignore it. 

He opened his eyes again when the bathroom door closed and Ryan said, "Well, Jeremy should be fine. No side effects from the possession that I know of and his nose should heal normally." Matt sat up again as Ryan asked, "Are you good to drive home?" 

Matt nodded, standing up and looping Jeremy's arm around his shoulder. He was practically asleep on his feet at this point and he didn't want Jeremy to crash to the ground and hurt his nose even more than it already was. "Yeah, I'll be fine," Matt assured, slowly shuffling towards the door. He'd driven Jeremy's car over to the motel from the old house so it was waiting outside for them to head home. Before Matt stepped outside of the room, though, he turned back to Ryan. "Hey, uh, thanks. I really appreciate you taking care of him." 

Ryan shrugged and waved his hands. "Yeah, yeah, just go home and get some sleep and try to forget all this happened." Matt nodded and finally left, shutting the door maybe a little too loudly in the silence of the early morning. 

The silence was broken again when Michael asked, "Think we'll ever see them again?" 

Ryan mulled that over. The taller one, Matt, had seemed... interested, for lack of a better word. After the danger had passed he'd gotten the look in his eyes that was all too evident. It was the same look Ryan had had, back when he started hunting. It was the want to know more and to learn, to find out about the mysterious world of monsters that lived side by side with humans. "I think we will," he finally said, and honestly he believed it. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing yet. He supposed only time would tell. 

-.-

The next day they packed their things and started the long drive back home. Michael felt a bit better this time, softly chatting with Ryan every now and then. Matt had helped knock him out of the shadow that Gavin had inadvertently thrown him in and for that he was grateful. At least now it wasn't the thought on the forefront of his mind. At least now he could worry about other things. Like what that demon had said. 

Michael didn't feel like it was his place to pry, but it was painfully obvious that Ryan had run into that specific demon before. And what it had said was... worrying, to say the least. 

It took almost a half hour before Michael could bring up the courage to actually ask Ryan about it. He'd gotten more comfortable around the ex-hunter, but there was still room for uncertainty. He only flinched a little when he asked, "So... did you know that demon?" 

Michael yelped and gripped the dashboard of the car tightly as it swerved suddenly. Good thing they were on an empty country road, Michael thought, trying to slow down his racing heart. He glanced over at Ryan, only to see white knuckles gripping the steering wheel. Ryan refused to look at Michael as he ground out, "Yes. I did."

"Do you... not want to talk about it?" Michael wasn't sure he'd be willing to say anything if he was in Ryan's position. From what the demon had said to the former hunter Michael could gather that whatever happened wasn't pretty. 

"I... no, it's fine," Ryan conceded, much to Michael's surprise. He continued, eyes still on the road, "I got around as a hunter. I had a few friends and I made a few enemies. One of them was that demon, though I have no idea what it was doing in a house all alone. Actually... it was probably waiting for unsuspecting souls to make deals with. Demons aren't known for being straightforward. They always have to make things complicated." 

Ryan shook his head and cleared his throat. "Anyways, yes, I knew it. Exorcised that specific demon a few years ago when cheating it out of a deal. Demons don't take that lightly, though it wasn't able to find me until the last few days after I stopped being a hunter. That's when I met Kerry." He took a shaky breath. "I... I thought, for a long, long time, that what I was doing was the right thing. Monsters  _killed_  people, the supernatural  _hurt_  people. But... Kerry wasn't old enough to remember what happened, but I do. He'd looked at me like  _I_  was the monster, and honestly I felt like it." 

The car was silent as Michael digested what Ryan had just said. It was... something. Ryan didn't have to flat out say what he'd done, but it wasn't hard to guess. 

_"What've you been up to? Killed any monsters recently? Orphaned any more kids?"_

Michael wasn't sure what to think. But, evidently, Ryan wasn't done talking. "But I couldn't just leave him there, not as old as he was. He... God, he was just a kid. But the others tried to tell me he was a monster, and I guess he is, but... he was just a kid. What was I supposed to do? Leave him there? I couldn't." Ryan momentarily leaned his head against the steering wheel and sighed. "So I stopped killing monsters, decided that maybe what I was doing wasn't the right thing to do. I moved into a small town, met a witch named Geoff, and settled down and tried to forget about what I used to do.

"But it's hard, especially when a demon you exorcized comes back and tries to kill you. But... in the end I chose mercy because I couldn't stand the thought of another being's blood on my hands, not that soon after I'd given it up. Maybe I should have, though. I don't... I don't feel like that's the last we'll see of that particular demon." 

Michael hummed, not sure if he should break the silence that was settling over the two of them. It must have taken a lot of trust for Ryan to tell Michael all of that, and in all honesty he felt closer to the other man because of it. He didn't look quite as intimidating as Michael thought he had the first time they'd met. He looked... tired. 

There was silence in the car all the way back to town, but honestly neither of them minded. It was a nice, comfortable silence as they both thought about things and dreaded others. Like getting back to town and dealing with things again. 

He hadn't noticed it, but his time away from the town had given him time to think about things, though he'd put some of the more important things off for the majority of his time away. He'd talked to Matt about Gavin, and the man had given him advice that managed to kick him out of his confused thoughts. He'd have to decide for himself to forgive Gavin or not. He wasn't sure he was ready for that decision, but he supposed he'd figure it out eventually. 

It wasn't like he'd seen what happened between Gavin and the others after he'd blacked out, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know. He wasn't sure he wanted the knowledge in his head, always nagging him and reminding him of how much of a danger Gavin could really be. He shook himself out of his thoughts and pulled out his phone, checking the texts from the past few days. He'd been generally ignoring them, not willing to face everyone after everything. But after he'd been away for a while he figured he'd put it off long enough. 

There were a few from all his contacts, though he ignored the ones from his uncle. He didn't care what that man had to say to him, though he did see the most recent text. It was about how his uncle was leaving town for an unspecified amount of time and Michael sighed. At least he wouldn't have to deal with that when he got home. 

Next he checked the texts from Ray, mostly just random links and pictures he thought Michael would find funny. He stopped scrolling through the texts when he reached the ones from the day after... what happened with Gavin. 

"Hey, Geoff told me what happened. If you wanna talk you can."

"Or not, that's fine too." 

There were a few more texts under that, mostly the links and pictures Michael had grown used to, interspersed every so often with more serious sentiments. Mostly it was about how he was kind of lonely at the General Store since Michael and Gavin were both gone and Geoff and Jack and sometimes Lindsay were busy trying to do complicated magic with Gavin's bottle. 

He didn't bother to reply to Ray, knowing he'd see him soon, and he switched to checking Lindsay's texts. There were only three, all from the day everything happened. 

The first was a confession, explaining how everyone knew where Gavin was and what was happening, followed by a lengthy explanation of what exactly a prophet was. In the end it didn't really tell Michael much except that Lindsay just instinctually knew things and sometimes got strange dreams or fortunes that always turned out to be true, though being able to figure out what a certain dream meant was a feat unto itself.

Looking back on it, he probably could have figured out it was something like that. He might have misinterpreted it as some weird witch magic, though, so he supposed getting an explanation was best. 

He switched over to check his texts from Geoff. Or just one, apparently. It made Michael's breath catch in his throat and his heart beat as the car slowed to a stop in front of the General store. 

"We got Gavin back."


	15. It Goes On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit shorter then usual, so sorry about that. Hope it's enjoyable to read anyways.

It felt almost weird to be back in the General Store, especially after everything that happened. The building itself seemed strangely unchanged, the air still carrying the same strange scent of burnt out herbs and Lysol. The shelves were stocked and the floor was polished and Ray stood behind the counter, just barely smiling at Michael as he walked in, still shouldering his backpack full of clothes from his and Ryan's trip. Still, though, somehow he didn’t like the air his absence left in the store.

"Yo," Ray greeted, maybe a little awkwardly, as if he wasn't sure how to treat Michael after his brief absence. It reminded him of the first day he started working there, when he saw Ray again for the first time in years. Michael kind of just wished everything would settle back to how it used to be. "How'd it all go?" 

Michael sighed and wandered behind the counter as well, swinging his backpack down on the ground and hopping up to sit on the smooth wood surface and spoke before he could really consider his words. "Well, it wasn't a ghost."

"Yeah? What was it then?" Ray asked, twisting his hands in his hoodie. 

Michael bit his lip, running his eyes over Ray. He looked more disheveled than usual, his glasses only barely hiding the dark circles under his eyes now. He looked like he'd been worrying about something and Michael wasn't sure he wanted to add to that list by telling him about the demon. "Uh... nothing particularly interesting," Michael lied. "I, uh, don't even remember what Ryan said it was," he said, and was glad that Ray looked away from him so he could bite his lip and dig his nails into his palms. Maybe it was better to just tell him the truth.

Unfortunately he didn't get to act on that, as Lindsay walked up to the counter with a strained smile on her face. "Hey, guys," she said, her voice cracking. She looked almost as bad as Ray did, though to see it on her was more of a shock, as she usually looked at least a little well rested while Michael was fairly certain Ray barely got enough sleep at night. "You, uh, might've heard the news." 

"You mean the, uh, Gavin news?" Ray asked quietly, and Lindsay nodded. 

"Yep, took a lot of energy and time but we figured out how to... fix it?" She said it as if she wasn't sure that was the right word for it. "Basically, we can talk to Gav again. It should be like it was before, free shifts in and out, though we managed a charm to keep him inside if need be." Lindsay took a deep breath just as the door to the back opened. 

"Hey, Linds, you explain everything to them?" Geoff asked as he wandered into the store. Lindsay nodded as Jack appeared near the front entrance and locked the doors with one swift motion before joining the growing group as well. Geoff cautiously reached into his pocket and drew out the same bottle Michael was used to seeing. Maybe it was the time away or maybe it was how much bigger Geoff's hands were compared to his but he'd swear it looked... smaller. 

"So..." Ray muttered awkwardly, "What, uh, what now?" 

Geoff set the bottle down on the counter. "Well, first we have to get this fucker out of hiding. We fixed the seals almost... three hours ago? And he still hasn't come out." Geoff grinned, but it wasn't a nice grin. It was the face of someone about to get at least a minuscule amount of revenge on someone else. In this case, Gavin. "So, if he won't come out, we make him come out. Lindsay? Care to do the honors?" 

She adopted the same grin Geoff was sporting and she nodded. Jack looked just a little concerned as Lindsay rubbed her hands together and let out a long stream of breath. 

It occurred to Michael that, while he was aware of Geoff and Lindsay's status as witches, he had never really seen what made them witches. The closest to magic he'd ever been was with Gavin and, occasionally, Jack. While Jack's magic had been subdued and calming and Gavin's had been bursting at the seams and electric, this was almost burning. 

It wasn't quite visible, but it wasn't invisible either. As Lindsay set her hands in front of her something seemed to shimmer in the air and a pressure built up. The shimmer grew and it almost looked like asphalt on a hot, sunny day. Then, it was almost like the area around Lindsay's hands seemed to glow, only for Michael to realize that no, her hands weren't glowing, the rest of the room was just getting inexplicably darker. Something seemed to snap, almost like a branch, before suddenly the pressure was gone and the lights were back to normal. Lindsay was bent over, her hands on her knees as she breathed heavily. 

Michael blinked and stepped back when he saw Gavin and stiffened. 

He didn't look... quite like he remembered. Sure, it was still inexplicably Gavin, there were just a few changes that were hard to place but definitely there. His head was down, eyes refusing to meet anyone. They were dim compared to how bright they had been last time Michael had seen them. His shoulders were hunched and he was wringing his hands.

There was silence for a beat too long before Gavin dared to look up and say, "I'm so-" 

"You _FUCK!_ " Geoff boomed, making everyone in the room visibly flinch, none more so then Gavin. "Do you have any idea the trouble you've caused!?"

And it went like that for a good twenty minutes, every time Geoff seemed to be running out of things to yell at Gavin about he pulled something else seemingly out of thin air. With every passing moment Geoff's volume seemed to increase and Gavin seemed to withdraw into himself even more, and yet there wasn't an feeling of tension in the air. Gavin's face was just barely hiding a grin and Geoff's voice was angry, but the faded kind of angry where you were yelling just out of principal and not actual rage. 

In all honesty this was not how Michael had expected this situation going. He expected everyone to tiptoe around the subject, casting glances at each other and feeling incredibly awkward in the whole situation. Obviously he didn't know his friends very well. 

Matt's words seemed to come to Michael then, faded and distant but still relevant. He would have to decide whether or not he forgave Gavin. And, in all honesty, he didn't like the sick, heavy feeling in his chest that came from thinking about this. Plus, Gavin seemed repentant, not even bothering to try to get Geoff to stop yelling. Thinking about it, it didn't look like anyone else was really willing to, either.

"-and not to mention being an annoying prick almost every single day!" Geoff finished, and everyone let out a sigh of relief as their ears stopped ringing. 

Gavin seemed to shuffle, scuffing his feet against the floor, still refusing to meet anyone's eyes. He took a deep breath and braced himself before saying, "I really am sorry, though." When no one said anything he continued. "It's... it's overwhelming, innit? To suddenly have all that power after all that time. I got a little carried away, didn't really realize what I was doing. And I'm sorry."

"Damn right you should be," Geoff huffed, but he didn't say more, just stepped to the side so everyone else could say their piece. 

Michael took the initiative and stepped forward, putting his face as close to Gavin's as possible and glaring. The djinni gulped and was about to step back before Michael let himself fall forward and wrap him into a bone crushing hug. It felt strange, almost like he was hugging nothing, but there was definitely something stopping his arms and it was warm beyond belief. While he couldn't exactly feel Gavin he still sensed him relax into the embrace. 

"What you did was the stupidest thing I never got to see," Michael growled out with as much venom as possible. "But... I missed you, boi," he said, quietly this time. 

"I missed you too," Gavin replied, and just like that the tension was gone and it was almost like it had been before everything happened. 

Almost. 

"What? Come on, Geoffrey, do you have to?" Gavin whined. 

It had been a few hours, though Michael had barely noticed. They'd spent that time talking and telling stories and generally getting back into the swing of things. Well, it was mostly the lads that were talking, which led to many shitty stories and shittier jokes. But now Geoff was looking at Gavin with a serious frown on his face and suddenly it wasn't quite so light hearted anymore. 

"Yes, I'm serious. I get that you're sorry about what happened, but I still think it's necessary."

"But a _week?_ " Gavin stressed, and honestly Michael had similar sentiments. 

"Yes a week!" Geoff burst out. "I'll teach Michael how to get you out if something bad happens, and you'll still be able to hear everything, but you're not allowed out of your bottle for a week. You're sorry, but you still did something incredibly shitty, so you're going to have to pay a price."

Ray patted Gavin on the shoulder. "Don't worry, buddy. It's a human thing." 

Gavin sighed and nodded, seemingly resigned to his fate. "Alright. It's... it's fine. It's only a week. I can handle it. After all, I'm technically older than all of you," he said with a smirk. 

"Only by a few centuries," Jack reminded pointedly, though it was clear he didn't mind all that much. 

With that Geoff scooped the bottle off of where it had been sitting on the counter and as Gavin flickered and faded from view he gave a small smile and a wave. And suddenly the store was quiet again. 

"Is that necessary, Geoff?" Ray asked quietly, just a little on edge, though Michael had no idea why. 

Geoff sighed. "Yes, it is. He may be sorry but djinn are slippery. They don't fully understand human emotion, though they've got a pretty good idea. He needs to not only feel sorry but know what happens if he tries something like that again. He needs to know we won't tolerate it."

"Oh," was all Ray had to say on that subject. He shuffled back behind the counter and pulled on his hoodie, getting ready to go back home for the night. 

Geoff turned to Michael and handed him the bottle. "Here," he said shortly. 

Michael took it gingerly, as if unsure of how to handle it. "Why are you giving it to me?"

"Because I figure you've got enough shit to say to make up for the both of you," Geoff replied, and that was that. 


	16. Unexpected Guests

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaay early chapter B)

It took a surprisingly short amount of time for Michael to get back into the swing of things after his trip with Ryan. It helped that Ray obviously wanted things to go back to normal, stress lines evident on his face, though if it was from the events of the last few days or something else Michael couldn't tell.

The store was fairly busy today and there was still tension in the air but it was rapidly fading. Michael still found himself bringing Gavin's bottle with him wherever he went, except this time he zipped it up in his backpack and hoped for the best. It felt good to have it back again, though there was still the absence of a certain annoying djinni that he missed.

Michael shifted from foot to foot, just barely paying attention to what was going on in the store. He rung up a few people, rattling off prices and offering discounts. It wasn't until he heard a quiet, "Hey, Michael," that he snapped back into reality.

Ray was staring at him worriedly.

"What?" Michael asked. He looked around the store, trying to see if there was something wrong, only to see that it was now mostly empty. Ray just motioned towards Michael's hands and with a sharp intake of breath he shoved them into his pockets.

He didn't know why, but his hands had turned into claws at some point during the day. Normally it wouldn't have been that worrying, but considering that fact that Michael hadn't even noticed that it happened was a problem. He wondered briefly if this had any correlation with what happened with the demon, when he'd accidentally let himself get drowned out by... well, he wasn't completely sure what it was.

But he wasn't fighting, he wasn't in any sort of danger. He was standing behind the counter, zoning out, and yet for some reason his hands had transformed without him noticing.

"You ok, dude?" Ray asked, once again breaking Michael out of his thoughts.

With one more glance around the store to make sure no one was watching he slowly drew his hands out of his pockets and squinted at them, trying to make them go back to normal. It worked, but not after a few failed attempts. He glanced back up at Ray, who was still looking at him worriedly.

"I'm... fine. Probably."

"That inspires a lot of confidence, Michael," Ray retorted sarcastically.

"Shut up," Michael muttered. "I'll... figure it out. Hopefully."

"You'd probably benefit from some self-confidence," Ray replied snarkily. The small smile that had appeared on his face disappeared quickly, though, and he said, "I could... uh, never mind. Maybe you could ask Jack?"

Michael blinked at that. "Uh... what does Jack have to do with this?

"He's, uh, well, you know what he is," Ray started, clearly unsure of how to proceed with this.

Michael only crossed his arms. "I mean I know what he's called. I wouldn't say that I know exactly what that means, though. No one’s every really given me a straight answer." To be fair, though, Michael had never really asked. He'd just started to accept the large bearded man that popped up at random points in the day.

Like now. Michael found he wasn't even surprised.

"I could help you with your transformations, Michael," Jack offered. "As a landvættir, er, sorry, land wight, I do have some shapeshifting abilities."

"What?" Michael hissed out. "And I've never heard of this because...?"

Jack chuckled, which didn't help the strange anger pooling in Michael's stomach. "I don't make a habit of turning into animals seeing as this is a populated area now. Before the town was built, though, I spent most time as any animal I chose. I could help you if you wanted me to, though I’m not sure how much help I’ll be."

Michael huffed and crossed his arms. "Yeah? What makes you think I even need help?"

Jack raised an eyebrow and pointed at Michael's hands, which still didn't look human, God damn it. "I'm not sure why you're having so much trouble now since you had a fair amount of control before but... it might have something to do with Gavin."

Michael let his hands drop and he let out a long stream of breath. He knew Jack was right, he knew that, even while the curse left by Gavin had finally faded he still hadn't put enough time into getting a handle on his abilities again. He'd just let them run rampant, like back with the demon. He'd stopped his routine practices, stopped paying attention to that side of himself, just like before getting employed by Geoff.  
  
Suddenly he felt like a 10 year old again, alone in a big house with hands and feet that didn't look like his own. He remembered feeling fear and panic as he closed the blinds with shaking hands and buried himself in blankets in his room, terrified that hunters would find him and kill him. He had known it was irrational, deep down, but when you're 10 and your parents have just died everything seems like it's out to get you.

Somehow, though, he got the feeling that that was what he was _supposed_ to think, and that whatever explanation he tried to think of wouldn’t be the right one.

Michael shook his head and curled his hands into fists. Jack looked at him pityingly, as if he knew what was going on in his head. Hell, maybe he did. "Alright, yeah, I could use your help." He didn't like the way the words felt on his tongue, but he knew he had to. There was only so much he could do on his own and only so much help he could deny before it got ridiculous. Besides, if it had to be anyone he was glad it was Jack. He seemed level headed enough to not make Michael furious with every other word like a certain djinni did.

The sound of the front door to the store opening stopped their conversation. Michael glanced over to the front and stopped short. It was a kid, probably no more than 8. The kid had a hood pulled over their head and their fists were tangled in the sleeves of the too-big hoodie they were wearing. They looked up at the three men now staring at him and Michael was shocked to recognize the face.

"Kerry?" Michael blurted out before he could stop himself.

Ray was glancing behind the two, the gears in his head working slowly. Jack smiled at the kid whose hood was still up and his shoulders hunched up. "Hello, Kerry. I haven't seen you in a while."

"Uh... yeah," Kerry said, almost too quietly. He looked so incredibly uncomfortable in this situation, so out of his depth, that Michael couldn't help but feel a pang of pity for him. "R-Ryan told me to... to come here. He said I have to stay here for a while." Only then did Michael notice the small backpack on Kerry's back, stuffed full of clothes and other things he'd need.

"Why?" was all Michael could think to ask. Surely Ryan wouldn't be sending his kid to hang around the store for no reason, especially so soon after he and Michael had just gotten back from their short trip.

"There's... there's hunters in town," Kerry said, except it was almost too quiet for Michael to hear. He only caught "hunters," though by the way Jack and Ray stiffened next to him he could guess the rest.

He felt his stomach drop and his hands curl into fists and he couldn't tell if he should be scared for himself or for his friends.  
-.-  
Ryan sat in his living room stiffly, his hands impulsively picking at any and all loose fabric in his threadbare couch. In all honesty he should probably get a new one. Or a couch cover or something. He needed to repaint the room, too, soon. The paint was starting to stain and it just looked messy. He definitely wasn't trying to distract himself from the couple sitting in front of him, smiling and laughing like the last few years never happened.

Well, Ryan mused, it wasn't like they'd been there. When he met Kerry, when he retired. Sure, word got around, but a hunter retiring was unheard of. Mostly people just assumed he was sticking to local cases or something like that. Two such people were sitting on he chairs he'd set out for them.

"...last week. It wasn't easy, but hey, what is?" Tyler asked amicably, directing the last part of his sentence towards Ryan, who could only slightly nervously chuckle in response. He hadn't been listening, not that Tyler seemed to notice. Or maybe he did and just wasn't going to act on it. "Anyways, Haywood, what have you been up to lately? You've been a bit quiet in your activity for a while. Heard you took down a demon, though. Nice job."

Ryan swallowed. "How did you hear about that?" It had only happened a while ago and it had just been him and Michael present. And...

"There's some new kids on the block, said you saved them. Two of 'em. Not quite hunters, just curious. But I'm sure someone will get to them soon. Like with you." The last statement was said casually but Ryan had to stop himself from flinching. It was just a little worrying that those two were continuing down the path of the supernatural. It was long and confusing and often Ryan had found it hard to see where his life was going. But even if it was uncertain one thing was clear: it would not end well for them.

"Why are you here?" he asked through clenched teeth, and Tyler frowned and glanced over at Mariel. The two of them were not the best or most competent hunters but they were experienced enough to cause some real trouble in town. He didn't want them here longer than they had to be.

"There've been a lot of strange sightings around town," Mariel said, stuck somewhere between excited and cautious. "A few of them are probably fake or someone overreacting, you know how it is-"

Mariel's words died in her mouth when she noticed the look she was getting from Ryan. He was not happy, and he was not patient. "Er... anyways, we think there's a vampire in the area-"

"Singular?" Ryan muttered. Usually vampires traveled in groups, draining the area of blood and flooding local news with hints for hunters to track. While it was easier for a vampire to travel alone and not leave much of a trace, being alone also meant hunters could take them down easily. An entire nest of vampires was hard to take out and most of the time the members weren't all killed. There was strength in numbers, which meant that, if Tyler and Mariel were right, this vampire was highly irregular.

"Y-yeah," Tyler stuttered. "We checked the local papers and news stations. All the usual signs are there, blood bank shortages, dead animals, you name it. But..."

"But what?" Ryan almost snapped. He hated how they were either tiptoeing around him or trying to impress him. He knew his reputation had built up in his years as a hunter but he had hoped it died down at some point after his retirement. Obviously it hadn't.

"There have been... weird... patterns. There's the normal signs and then there's the... not normal ones," Mariel said, almost unsure of how to word it. "There have been claims of attacks in the last few days - nothing before then - that match vampire attacks. But... none of the victims were harmed in any way. Well, they were scared, sure, but what are you gonna do?"

Ryan drew his eyebrows together. They were right, this was irregular. He'd never heard of a vampire using scare tactics. And to what end? Intimidation? Was this vampire trying to send a message to others of their kind? Or were they trying to goad hunters to find them? Was it something else entirely that  
Ryan wasn't thinking of? It was a possibility. But... "Why do you two think this vampire is doing this?"

Tyler straightened up and clasped his hands together in front of himself. He seemed to be fighting a smile and something almost proud flashed in his eyes. "We... have a theory that the vampire has gone a long time without feeding on fresh blood. We think that they're close to breaking but just manage to pull themselves back at the end. But..." Tyler leaned in and said in a lower voice then before. "It's only a matter of time before they snap."

In all honesty, Ryan was impressed that they could pull that much bullshit out of their asses.

"Uh-huh," was all Ryan said in response to that. "Well, have you figured out where this vampire is hiding?"

"Er..." Mariel muttered, rubbing the back of her neck. "Not... really? We're still doing research but, uh, we figure we'll be able to track the vampire more accurately once another attack happens." 

Ryan sighed. "So you have no idea where this vampire is and you're willing to let it attack someone once again, running the risk of the next victim actually getting hurt, to find out where it is." Tyler and Mariel nodded, though they didn't say anything. They looked like they didn't like the tone Ryan was using with them. "How about, instead of that, you go out to the library or something and look up records of people who have lived here way too long." 

Mariel raised her hand and with a nod from Ryan she said, "How do you know they haven't just moved here?"

"Because I live here and I would have known if someone moved in recently," Ryan deadpanned. "Now leave, I've got enough to worry about without you two." 

The two active hunters exchanged glances but nodded, muttering thanks to Ryan for letting them talk. They left out the front door and as it slammed shut a silence settled over the house. 

Ryan let his head fall into his hands and he let out a heavy sigh. He was retired, god damn it! Why did this keep happening? 

With another sigh Ryan pushed himself back to his feet. Well, time to pay Geoff a visit.


	17. Asking Around

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably could have split this into two chapters but I really want to move on so you guys get an extra long chapter. Hope you're excited, shit starts happening real soon.

The drive to the General Store was short and Ryan was glad for it. As he stepped out of his car and walked across the small parking lot Ryan really hoped Kerry had made it here safely. With hunters around he didn't trust himself to keep Kerry safe. He trusted Geoff a whole lot more with this kind of thing. He'd always been the father type and while Ryan tried he didn't have quite what it took. He made do, but sometimes it was just hard. Years of hunting monsters made a lot of things about his current situation hard. 

He pushed open the front door and wandered in, noting Ray behind the counter and Kerry sitting on it next to him. They were talking quietly. Or, rather, Ray was talking and Kerry was giggling and hugging his backpack closely to his chest. The tiny minotaur brightened when he saw Ryan and with a shout he leapt off the counter and threw himself at Ryan's legs, hugging as hard as he could. 

"Hey there, Kerry," Ryan chuckled as he ruffled the hair between Kerry's small horns. "Have you been good?"

"Yep!" Kerry nodded vigorously, face still buried in the fabric of Ryan's jeans. "How long till I can come home?"

Ryan sighed and leaned down, picking Kerry up easily and walking towards Ray, who was watching the exchange with a raised eyebrow. "Not yet, Kerry. Not until I solve this and get the hunters to leave again." He set Kerry back down on the counter after a quick hug. "I promise I'm doing my best to get them to leave, though. It shouldn't be more than two days."

He turned to Ray then, a serious look settling on his face. "Where's Geoff? I need to talk to him." His eyes roamed around the store and he noted the absence of two of its other employees. "And where are Michael and Jack?" 

"Geoff's upstairs," Ray said easily, though he was obviously tense from the mention of hunters. Ryan wasn't entirely sure why but now wasn't the time to ask. "Jack and Michael are at Michael's house. Apparently Jack's helping Michael with shifting or whatever."

"Alright. Can I go upstairs then?"

"Knock yourself out, dude. I think Geoff's working on some spell, though, so I'd be careful if I were you."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ryan said dryly. He gave Kerry a small smile and a wave as he headed towards the back. The hallway behind the store was strangely silent, which Ryan figured was from the fact that two of its employees weren't present. Ryan couldn't remember a time when the store had been this empty. Not since he first met Geoff. 

It seemed so long ago though Ryan was certain it hadn't been more than two years. He remembered when it was just Jack and Geoff that worked here, when Geoff always shuffled away from him and refused to meet his eyes. When Jack was equally as cautious but hid it better, knowing (or at the very lead hoping) that hunters usually didn't go after protective spirits. 

He had to remind himself that all that was in the past now. He had to tell himself that Geoff trusted him now, that Jack trusted him now. He could go to them for this, he could ask them and they would tell him because they trusted him. At least he hoped they did. 

His fist hit the old wood of Geoff's door before he could lose his nerve. The knock seemed terribly loud in the quiet store and Ryan winced, half hoping that, for whatever reason, Geoff wasn't in his room right now. 

A loud swearing came from the other side of the door and Ryan sighed. Nope, he was definitely home. The door was wrenched open and he felt a hand grab his collar. With a yelp he was pulled inside and shoved against the now closed door. Ryan felt his muscles tense as a hand slapped over his mouth and he had to physically stop himself from retaliating. His eyes locked on Geoff and he noted how the witch looked. His shoulders were hunched and his body was positioned in front of Ryan, as if to shield him. Whatever was happening wasn't because of something Ryan did. 

"Geoff, what-?"

"Sh!" Geoff shushed him quickly. "Keep your voice down! I may have messed up another spell."

Ryan sighed. Of course he did. It was a 50/50 chance with Geoff though somehow his spells always seemed to fail. "What was it this time?"

"Er..." Geoff mumbled, slowly giving Ryan room to breathe. His eyes kept flicking around his small living room, supposedly looking for something, though what that something was Ryan couldn't say. "I was trying to cast a protection spell, right? And it was going good, everything was in the right place and, actually, well I guess it wasn't because now it's messed up and, well, I'm kind of glad you're here because I was going to call-"

"Geoff," Ryan cut him off. The witch was babbling at this point. He was embarrassed, that was obvious. Well, considering that he supposedly messed up a protection spell of all things his embarrassment was warranted. Seriously, who tries to cast a protection spell when their house is already protected by a land wight? Apparently Geoff does. "What did you do?"

"Haha, well, I may have... accidentally... summoned what I was trying to ward from?" The last part was said quickly as Geoff's face started burning a deep red. Ryan resisted the urge to punch something. Only Geoff would have this problem. Only Geoff. 

"Are you serious?" 

"Do I look not serious, Haywood?!" Geoff practically shouted. He stiffened and quickly hid behind Ryan as a sharp hissing came from somewhere in Geoff's living quarters. "Oh God I hear it! Please please do something, Ryan, please!" 

Ryan would be lying if he didn't feel a little bit of fear from the desperation in Geoff's voice. But this was Geoff, and that meant it was probably something dumb. Geoff had a knack for fucking up spells in the most spectacular ways (probably the reason most witches didn't talk to him) and trying to perform unnecessarily dangerous spells just because he could. But, thankfully, it was very rare that Geoff's spells produced something dangerous. It wasn’t usually something like...

A small, black snake hiding under his couch. 

Ryan sighed and stood up straighter, meeting Geoff's eyes from across the room. The witch was, at this point, sitting cross legged on his kitchen countertop, watching as Ryan looked for... whatever it was. A snake, apparently.

"Geoff..." Ryan sighed. "Are you serious?"

"Did you find it?!" Geoff yelled across the room, as if they were in a wind tunnel and not ten feet away from each other. 

"Yeah," Ryan confirmed, ducking his head down to look at the thing again. "Got any silver? Or salt?" When Geoff didn't reply Ryan looked up again, only to be hit in the face with a bag of rock salt. "Ow! Jesus, Geoff!"

"Sorry," Geoff snickered. He didn't sound very sorry. 

"God damn it, this is why I retired," Ryan muttered as he opened the bag of rock salt (why couldn't Geoff just give him regular table salt?) and slowly extended his hand under the couch, intent on dumping the salt on the snake and performing a quick exorcism. It gave off the same vibe demons usually did, so it only made sense to do an exorcism. 

Unfortunately for Ryan, he didn't get the chance to, as the snake suddenly reared up and struck, embedding it's fangs into Ryan's outstretched arm. 

He let out a yelp, dropping the salt and quickly pulling his arm back as the snake seemed to dissolve into his arm. The world seemed to pitch around him and he recognized the haze of a possession in his head. "Dammit, Geoff," he slurred, letting himself sit down hard on the floor. 

"R-Ryan?" Geoff shouted worriedly, seemingly forgetting the snake in favor of helping his friend. He rushed over and fluttered his hands around Ryan, seemingly unsure of what to do. "Hey, buddy, are you ok?"

Ryan felt his arm move forward without his consent towards Geoff, and with a yelp the witch raised his hands in defense, only for Ryan's arm to stop an inch from Geoff neck where, he assumed, it was trying to go. He grit his teeth and took a deep breath, forcing himself to think through the haze in his head. It worked somewhat. His nails dug into Geoff's wood floor, the splinters under his nails helping to ground him. 

"Know any exor-exorcisms, Geoff?" Ryan forced out. 

"Er... not off the top of my head, no," Geoff said, looking away from Ryan and shivering. Of course he didn't know any. He wasn't a hunter, why would he? "Jesus, why do your eyes look like that?"

Ryan wasn't entirely sure what that meant. He could only assume that whatever was possessing him - or, rather, trying to possess him - left a few... exterior changes. Whatever they were they would probably leave once it was gone, but for now it would have to be ignored. 

"Right," Ryan said, stumbling to his feet and almost immediately crashing down again. Geoff managed to catch him under his arms, steadying him. "Any other ideas, then?"

"Uh... I could try a spell?" Geoff offered, and Ryan sighed. 

"How sure are you that it'll work?" There was black crawling at the edges of his vision and he really didn't feel like putting too much faith in Geoff right now. 

"Uh... 90%." At Ryan's disbelieving look he amended, "Or maybe... 85? ...75? Alright, I have no idea. Worth a shot though, right?" 

Ryan sighed and waved his hand before letting it fall limply back down. His legs felt weak and the fog in his head was growing thick, so he was only barely aware of Geoff guiding him to the couch and getting him to sit down. With Geoff gone and a solution (hopefully) coming soon, all Ryan could do was focus his efforts inward and keep... whatever it was away from him. He didn't want to hurt Geoff, even if he could be a dumb fuck sometimes. 

It seemed like an eternity had passed before Geoff came back. "Hey, Rye, how're you holding up?" 

All Ryan could think was how easy it would be to reach out and- no, no, that wasn't Ryan. The retired hunter shook himself as much as he could and offered Geoff a weak glare, trying to communicate how much he was going to yell at him when this was over for messing up a simple spell so badly. 

Some muttered words and the distinct smell of rubber burning reached Ryan and suddenly the haze was gone and he had to lean over, coughing into a bucket Geoff had lovingly provided. It tasted terrible, like every spoiled bit of food Ryan had ever eaten, like the gross feeling in a run-down motel complex a week away from being torn down. Whatever it was fell out of his mouth in some kind of black sludge, almost like tar. Geoff pushed Ryan away and quickly dumped salt into the bucket before setting it on fire. Good, at least he'd learned something. 

"Ugh," Ryan groaned, rubbing the sides of his head and squeezing his eyes shut. Possessions were never fun, especially when you fought them. Hey, a headache was worth not killing your friends. He'd learned that the hard way. 

"You alright now, buddy?" Geoff asked gently. 

"Peachy," Ryan growled, glaring at Geoff with as much venom as he could muster which was, regrettably, not a lot. "How did you manage to fuck up a protection spell that spectacularly? It did, like, the opposite."

Geoff's eyebrows furrowed and he looked worried about something. "That's the thing. I didn't."

Ryan let out a loud snort. "Yeah, absolutely. That's why I didn't get possessed just then."

"Hey, shut up! I'm trying to be serious." Geoff sat down on the couch next to Ryan with a sigh. "Like, I checked it, double checked it, everything! And it was fine! It should have worked! Besides, I've never heard of a failed protection spell summoning a low level demon." 

Ryan hummed. "Well what do you think happened, then?"

Geoff was silent. 

"Geoff?" Ryan tried again.

"I... I need to look into it," Geoff said, standing up suddenly. "Was there something you wanted, Ryan?"

"Oh, right, yeah," Ryan stuttered, suddenly remembering what he'd come here for. "Is there a vampire in town?"

Geoff nodded quickly. "Yeah, Joel. Been living here for a ridiculous amount of time, Burnie's kept the stubborn fuck out of the attention of the public. Don't know exactly where he lives, though. I'd recommend asking Jack about him. He's at Michael's house."

"Alright, thanks, Geoff," Ryan said, only to be met with the sound of a slamming door. Whatever went wrong with Geoff's spell was seriously worrying the other man, and, in extension, Ryan. He'd have to check back later, if he remembered. He didn't like the feeling he got from all this. He rubbed a sore spot in his arm as he left the General Store, saying a quick goodbye to Kerry and promising he'd solve this quickly. 

While he meant the hunter problem, he had the sneaking suspicion that something bigger was going on here. 

It was another relatively short drive to Michael's house. While he hadn't lived in town as long as a few of the others had, he still remembered his childhood here, in the town. He remembered a strange, young couple that moved in right as he moved away, off to college to pursue some half-forgotten degree that was shoved in Ryan's closet. He was surprised he even got it, after everything that happened. He figured it was even a miracle that he had even had enough time to study.

That college had a nasty supernatural problem, though looking back at it, a few of them might have been students. He tried not to think about it.

He tried not to think about it, but it inevitably crawled back into his mind. A little voice reminded him of the dorms, of the rumors, of the monsters. His hands tightened around the steering wheel as he remembered Gus and how he had looked at Ryan, wedged into a corner and scared for his life, because of some poltergeist that had been causing trouble in the dorms for years. He remembered the outstretched hand and a promise to Ryan that he would never have to be scared again. 

He remembered, in an instant that seemed to last a lifetime, every monster he'd hunted, every life he'd ended without a second thought because they were  _monsters,_ not people _, monsters._ He had to pull off to the side of the road and take a deep breath. He didn't like thinking about this, he didn't want to think about it. It was over and he was sorry, oh, God he was so sorry. Kerry could have lived a good life if he'd never stumbled into his parents. Multiple times. With machetes covered in whatever the hell Mark had said would take care of a fully grown minotaur. 

He sat there for god knows how long, his head resting against the steering wheel and thoughts swirling in his head. He had to take a deep breath to get rid of it so he could see again. It was all over now, it was gone. 

And yet here he was, as if nothing had happened, following leads to find a vampire. 

Except it's to save him, Ryan assured himself. But what if he couldn't? What if Mariel and Tyler found Joel first? It wouldn't be the first dead monster he was responsible for. 

He pulled up to Michael's house, finally, and with a deep breath he got out of his car and walked up the driveway, lifting his hand to knock on the old wood door. He waited for a few seconds before he heard muffled swearing and a, "I'm coming, hang on!" from the other side of the door. 

When it opened Ryan was met with a rather disheveled looking Michael, his teeth a bit sharper than normal and his hands not entirely human. "Hello, Michael. Is Jack here?"

He squinted up at Ryan, probably because he wasn't wearing his glasses, before blinking. "Yeah. How'd you know he was here?" 

Ryan smiled, said, "Geoff told me," and couldn't help but marvel at how comfortable the young skin changer had gotten around him. It was a nice feeling. 

"Well, alright, whatever." Michael leaned back, looking into his house and shouting, "Jack! Get your ass out here." Michael beckoned Ryan into a kitchen where Jack appeared a second later. 

"Oh, hello, Ryan. How are things?" Jack asked pleasantly. There was a distinctive calming air in the house, one that Jack was inevitably responsible for. It was just something his kind did, whether they meant to or not. 

"Fine, fine," Ryan said, waving a hand dismissively. "Had to talk to a couple of hunters, got possessed for a while there, asked Geoff something he told me to ask you and now I'm here."

Jack blinked at him. "Wait... when did you get possessed? I... there was some weird magic coming from the store but I assumed that was just Geoff."

"It was," Ryan said, before thinking better of it and saying, "Or, at least we think it might've been. I'll tell you about it later." He glanced over at Michael and Jack seemed to get the message. This was something Michael didn't need to know about. 

"Alright then. What was it you wanted to ask me?"

"I need to know where Joel is. Or at the very least I need to get him out of town." Jack's eyes widened and a frown wormed its way onto his face. "He's apparently been broadcasting his location to any hunter with half a brain."

Jack sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "Of course he did. Of _course_ he did," he sighed. "I can try to talk to him, if you'd like? I'm not sure how much he'd listen to me but I can try. Joel is... something. He's been around for a long time and, well, I think he's gotten bored again. And for him, entertainment is dodging hunters or making my life miserable." 

Ryan couldn't help but snort at that, getting a kicked puppy look from Jack. He couldn't help but feel a little bad, though that was once again Jack unconsciously messing with the emotions in the room. "How about this: we both go and talk to him. You can try to talk him into leaving, and I can... persuade him."

Jack gave him a stern look. "Alright, but if it goes sour I'm stepping in."

Ryan nodded. He knew that if Jack wanted something to happen, it would inevitably happen, though right now they didn't have the time Jack's negotiations usually took. He could only hope Joel was feeling reasonable today. 

"Alright, well, should we go? I'd rather solve this as quickly as possible." Jack nodded and Ryan started moving towards the door. 

They both stopped when Michael said, "Uh, Ryan, can I ask you something?" 

"Sure, Michael, shoot," Ryan said, turning back around to face the young man. 

"Can I ask you something _alone_?" Michael asked, sending a look towards Jack. 

The land wight didn't look happy about that, sending a pleading look towards Ryan. So whatever this was about, Jack and Michael had already talked about it and Michael deemed Jack's answer unsatisfactory. Or maybe he just wouldn't tell Michael. "Sure, yeah, Jack could you wait at the car?"

With a huff the spirit disappeared, as did the calm atmosphere in the house. Suddenly there was a strange pressure in the air and Michael hesitated before saying, "I don't know why, but I've been having... a lot of trouble... controlling myself." Ryan must have looked startled because he said, "Don't worry, it's nothing big, just... sometimes it's weird."

"That's very descriptive, thank you," Ryan snarked, though there wasn't much venom behind it.

"Hey, shut up," Michael huffed, crossing his arms. "Look, Jack came here today to help me with my shifts, right? But he... explained that his shapeshifting is different from mine, since he doesn't have an inherently human body, whatever that means. So he could only help me so much. So, uh, I got to thinking, what's something else that shapeshifts that’s more human than... whatever Jack is?"

Ryan wasn't entirely sure where Michael was going with this, though he had an idea. Curiously he asked, "I don't know, what?" 

"A, uh, a werewolf." Ryan raised an eyebrow. 

"You mean the werewolf that attacked you?" He vaguely remembered Geoff telling him about it a while ago. 

"Er... yeah," Michael confirmed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't... really know how werewolves work? So yeah I kinda need your help." 

Ryan bit back the "I'm retired" response, even though it was true. Instead he remembered briefly his encounter with a werewolf a few months ago. For all he knew, it was the same one. And it had attacked Michael, so... maybe he could give the kid some advice. Michael was strong, anyways. There wasn't a lot of things out there that could wrestle with a demon. 

"A werewolf is a... broad term. It's like the movies say, they transform into a giant monster during the full moon, but that's really the only general thing." Ryan paused, stuck his hands in his pockets, and continued. "I could give you my notes on them, if you want. It'll probably explain it better then whatever I can remember on the spot." 

Michael nodded. "Ok." He opened his mouth again, as if he wanted to say something else, before thinking better of it and closing it again. "Thanks, Ryan, I'll talk to you later I guess." 

Ryan nodded and returned the sentiment before turning once again and walking out the door. Jack was already sitting in his car by the time Ryan slipped into the driver's seat. Jack seemed to be deep in thought so Ryan started the car and pulled out of Michael's driveway.


	18. An Intervention

The ride was mostly silent, punctuated every so often by Jack giving directions to, as he'd put it, that big, old house down at the end of the upper class neighborhood. Eventually, though, even the directions petered off as it was obvious Ryan knew where he was going. So there was silence. 

At a red light Ryan hazarded a glance next to him, just to make sure Jack was still there and hadn't disappeared. The spirit was staring at him. Ryan shifted awkwardly in his seat, fixing his eyes resolutely on the road again. He could still feel Jack's eyes, though, and he really didn't like it. 

"Can you stop staring, please?" Ryan finally snapped, forcing himself to keep his eyes on the road. 

"Er... sorry..." Jack muttered, and suddenly the calming atmosphere that always followed Jack was gone, and yet Ryan could still see him, sitting there. Which meant something was bothering him. 

"What's wrong?" Ryan asked, mentally preparing himself for this conversation. In the short time he'd known Jack, he'd never been like this. He seemed troubled, and maybe a little scared, and a scared land wight was bad news all around. 

"It's just... there's something wrong, in the town, and I don't know what it is," Jack muttered, letting his head fall into his hands. "And I feel like I should know what it is, but I just don't! And it's always there, too, just barely in my vision, but no matter how hard I try I can never seem to catch it."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "That's what Geoff said, too." Well, not exactly, but Geoff was definitely getting the same feeling Jack was. "He tried to ward the store today, ended up summoning a demon instead."

"Is that why you said you got possessed?" 

"Haha, yep," Ryan laughed humorlessly. It wasn't the first time he'd gotten possessed, and it certainly wasn't going to be the last, but at least it wasn't like last time, and thank whatever God was out there that it wasn't like the time before that.

"It's just... I've been here for a long time, Ryan. Longer then the town's been around. I'm connected to the land, to everything that lives here, and yet..." there was a heavy sigh. "And yet I've got the worst feeling. And even worse I don't know how to help."

"You could talk to Lindsay?" Ryan suggested as he turned the corner into a neighborhood he'd only been in once. Ghosts were common in old towns like this and, thankfully, in the large houses owned by the rich. More often than not they were more than happy to compensate Ryan for what he did, and to ensure the town's safety. Well, Jack did that just fine on his own, not that they needed to know that. Besides, Jack was fine with it. "She's a prophet, right? And a powerful witch. Maybe with the right training she could be more powerful then Geoff one day."

Jack laughed. "Well, that's not hard. Geoff can't even get a protection spell right. One time, he warded me out of the store for a week. He was mad at me, so he played it off, right? Like he meant to do it. But I know it was an accident. He doesn't like being alone." Jack drummed his fingers on the dashboard and bit his lip as Ryan parked at the side of the road in front of the house Jack had described. "Besides, Lindsay's said her dreams have been... unhelpful. She can't make any sense of them anymore, and she has no idea why."

"Seems like that's happening a lot," Ryan said lowly. Jack nodded, and with that they piled out of the car. 

The sun was going down, which meant they probably wouldn't be noticed by anyone. Ryan quickly popped his trunk, pulling out a machete from the mess of weapons stored there, and earned a disapproving look from Jack. "Aren't you the one that's always complaining that you're retired?" 

"Hey, it never hurts to be cautious," Ryan replied as he closed his trunk as quietly as he could. 

With that they started walking up a winding gravel driveway, up to a house that had probably seen better days. The windows were dirty and the paint was faded and in some places it looked like the wood paneling was about to fall off. But, for all that, it still looked like it was in fairly good condition. It was leagues better then Ray's old house, that was a fact. 

Jack led the way, his feet not making much sound on the driveway as Ryan walked behind him, wincing at how loud the crunching sounded in the night. The stars were starting to come out, Ryan noted. It wouldn't be long until it was the full moon again. Then maybe he'd look for that werewolf. Or... maybe he'd let Michael do it, since the lad had seemed interested. Though, with everything going on, it was possible that attacking people was a byproduct of whatever was happening. Ryan didn't like not knowing, so he settled on what he did know. 

As Jack knocked on the door, yelling, "Hey! Joel!" Ryan tightened his grip on the machete, glad for the familiar weight. Though, there was a part of him that wanted to drop it like it was burning. Why was he still doing this? He didn't want to keep doing this. But what else could he do? Once a hunter, always a hunter, they say. Once you were in you weren't getting out, and no matter what you tried to do it would always follow you. So, Ryan figured if he wasn't getting out of it he'd change it to fit what he wanted to be. So his hand fell off the machete's handle just as the door swung open. 

Joel was not what he expected. Ryan had seen many vampires in his time, but none like this. Joel looked tired, bags under his eyes and fingers twitching every so often. He wore a baggy hoodie and loose pants and his feet were bare. He smiled a small, strained smile as his eyes flickered over Jack. Then it fell off as he caught sight of Ryan. "What?"

"Joel, we're having an intervention," Jack cut right to it, pushing past the vampire into his home. Ryan followed closely, not liking the looks he was getting from Joel. They were warranted, of course, but that didn't make them easier to ignore. 

"Oh, yeah?" Joel called after Jack, only closing the door when Ryan turned around and started walking. He found himself in what looked like a living room, with stuffed chairs and couches set up around a table and pictures everywhere. It wasn't just the odd family picture, either. Not only did they liberally cover the walls - some weren't even in frames - they were of many different people, with no rhyme or reason. Some of them looked like random shots of a crowd of people. Ryan pulled his attention back to the two men in front of him as they started talking. 

"What are you doing here, Jack?" Joel asked, and if Ryan didn't know any better he'd think he sounded bored.

"There are hunters is town-"

"Yes, I know, there's one standing right there," Joel interrupted, extending a finger towards Ryan. Jack sent the vampire a warning look. 

"No, there are others. And, unlike Ryan, their goal is to cut your head off." 

"Could have fooled me," Joel said, crossing his arms and letting a frown edge into his face. "He comes here, to my house - no, you bring him to my house, and he's holding a machete and looking around like he thinks everything's going to kill him."

"I can hear you, you know."

"I don't care, you know."

Ryan huffed and crossed his arms. "I'm trying to  _help_  you." 

"Yes, well, I've done just fine on my own, thank you very much." There was a snort from Jack that Joel either didn't hear or chose to ignore. "And besides, you come into my house with that," he pointed to the machete still hooked to Ryan's belt. "And you're claiming you're  _helping_  me."

"Yes," Ryan stated, though he did let his hand wander to his side and he saw Joel tense up. "I'll put it down, away from me, if it'll make you more comfortable." Joel squinted at Ryan, seemingly searching for something in his face. Whatever he found seemed to satisfy him for now so he turned to Jack and started talking. 

"Yes, I know about the hunters," Joel began, and Jack looked like he would have interrupted if not for the hand Joel held up. "And before you ask, no, I'm not leaving." Something in Joel's tone said that wasn't exactly true, but Ryan didn't want to be the center of the vampire's attention again, so he just set the machete down on the coffee table and collapsed into a chair. 

"But why? Those hunters will kill you!" Jack insisted, seemingly genuinely concerned. 

"Well then let them try. I haven't had any excitement in my life for too long." 

Ryan raised an eyebrow at that. So all this had been on purpose? To draw hunters to him because he was bored?

"You attacked people," Ryan spoke up. 

"Is that what they said?" Joel asked, turning to face Ryan and looking down his nose at the hunter. Maybe he shouldn't have sat down. "I mean, yes, I gave them a good scare, but nothing like they described. People love to get attention, and if they have to demonize an innocent vampire to do it, then they will," Joel said with a grin. 

"So all of this was on purpose?" Jack almost shouted incredulously. He obviously had no idea how to handle this information, so his voice was rapidly increasing in volume. "Is that why you won't leave when there are hunters trying to kill you?"

"Well," Joel said dismissively, "They have to find me first. Not one of the people I 'attacked' saw my face and I doubt that they'll just be able to find me by asking. I'm a polite neighbor that's just a little bit strange to everyone else here." Something passed across his face and he muttered, "I hope this is worth it," low enough to imply it wasn't supposed to be heard. 

Ryan raised an eyebrow, the wheels in his head turning. "So what's the point in having them here if they're just going to keep looking? Why do you want them to be hunting you if there's apparently no way they'll find you?" 

Joel hesitated, just enough for something to flicker across his face, something almost like worry. He opened his mouth to speak, only to clamp his mouth shut again when the sound of clattering pots and pans reached them. Jack looked panicked, Joel's look of worry increased, and Ryan felt a sick feeling wind down his throat. Well, time to improvise. 

"Jack, get out. Joel, hide upstairs." He didn't wait to see if they'd followed his orders, just grabbed the machete off of the table and crept towards where the crashes had come. He heard soft feet racing up creaking stairs and the air of calm that was usually around Jack was gone, so he could only hope they'd done what he'd told them to. 

He took a deep breath before stepping into an old kitchen, his eyes immediately landing on the two responsible for the noise. 

"You've got to be quiet!" Tyler hissed, as Mariel was trying to move away from the pans on the floor without making any more noise. 

"I'm trying, shut up!" Mariel whisper-shouted, though, in all honesty, she just shouted. "What kind of monster keeps all their cooking shit on the counter!?"

Ryan had to press a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. It didn't work, and Tyler whipped around to face him. "Oh! Ryan!" he said at normal volume, as if they weren't sneaking around just a second ago. 

"Thank god you're here, Haywood," Mariel said from her place on the floor. She blinked and seemed to realize just where she was before standing up with a deafening clatter and striding over to Tyler. 

Ryan forced the small smile off his face and asked, "How did you find this place?" He waved his machete vaguely around the kitchen, meant to indicate the whole house. 

"Well, uh..." Tyler muttered awkwardly. "We're... very good at what we do?" 

If Tyler had been even a semi decent liar there would have probably been a beat of silence while Ryan tried to decide if he was telling the truth or not. As it was, Ryan immediately turned to Mariel and asked her the same question. 

"Well we followed you," she said dismissively, and Ryan felt his body get suddenly cold. 

"How long have you been following me?" He wasn't completely sure he wanted the answer. 

"Uh... not long. We saw your car like... five minutes away from this neighborhood. Figured, hey, we haven't gotten any leads all day, might as well see where Ryan's going." Mariel looked around the room, maybe a little confused. "Er... and where, exactly, is this?" 

"It's a friend's house," Ryan said, maybe a little too quickly. "Thought they might know something about the case." 

"...sure, alright, I'll buy it. What'd you find out?" Mariel asked, and Ryan didn't answer, just let his eyes wander behind the couple. Jack was standing there, obviously worried. He seemed to notice Ryan starting at him and he just shook his head and put a finger to his lips. He started walking silently towards the pans on the floor. "Hello? Haywood?"

Ryan snapped back to the conversation at hand. He had a feeling he knew what Jack was doing, so he'd give Jack the time he needed. Which probably wouldn't be a lot. "Well, uh, right, so my friend, he was really helpful. Told me all sorts of important information that I might tell you eventually and- well, that's certainly one way to do it," Ryan finished dully as Mariel slumped to the ground next to Tyler and Jack stood over them, holding a large saucepan. 

There was a loud thump as Jack dropped it like it had burned him and kneeled down next to the incapacitated hunters, checking and making sure they hadn't been terribly hurt. "Maybe I shouldn't have hit them so hard, oh no, they'll both have terrible headaches when they wake up."

"It'll be fine, Jack," Ryan assured him. "I'm sure they've survived worse things. They are hunters, after all." 

"Are they dead?" Joel asked from the kitchen doorway, obviously not wanting to get near two hunters, even if they were knocked out. 

"No, they're not," Jack said quickly, as if he couldn't bare the idea of someone's blood on his hands. He probably couldn't. 

Ryan kneeled down next to Jack and whispered, "Remember what you did with those two kids? The one that Gavin... uh, yeah." Jack nodded. "Alright, I want you to do that with them as well. Set them up somewhere out of town, make sure they don't remember that there's a case here and set them on a course somewhere else." Ryan glanced back at Joel. "You should probably help him."

"Why can't you?" Joel asked, obviously opposed to doing any form of physical labor. 

"Because I'm going to get my son," Ryan said with as much finality as he could. "But first, I want you to answer my question." 

Joel just looked confused. "What question?"

"Why did you want hunters hunting you if you were confident they wouldn't find you?" 

Joel stiffened. "There's... something," he began, and he seemed genuinely worried. "Something's in town, and I don't know how long it's been here, but it's not right, and it's not good, and it's only a matter of time before something terrible happens because of it."

"And you wanted the hunters to find it instead of you," Ryan finished for him. Joel nodded, rubbing his hands together nervously. "Well, I won't tell you how many things are wrong with that plan because I don't want to be here all night, but please, don't put everyone else here in danger. We'll... we'll figure it out, alright? We'll figure out what's wrong with the town." 

Hopefully before someone gets seriously hurt, Ryan didn't say. 


End file.
